Darkness to his Light
by Okinawa Angel
Summary: Everyone has lost someone precious in the past and Admiral Kizaru is no exception. Sent to Sabaody Archipelago to clean up a mess caused by Monkey D. Luffy, a marine thought MIA emerges from the rubble of the fallen giant mangrove tree. Some dark themes. Kizaru/OC.
1. Current: Reunion

This story idea has been in my head for months so I figured, I shall post it and see how everyone likes it I suppose  
How it is planned is that the odd chapters will be the current events while the even chapters will reflect the past

Please enjoy everyone!

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Current: Reunion**

_Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. – Mother Theresa_

* * *

The marine admiral shook his bemused head as he launched the attack towards the pirates too rude to justify him with an answer to his very simple query of where his subordinate was. They did not even wait for a description before promptly wetting themselves and attempted to flee. It simply was not his fault if the mangrove tree toppled due to having the misfortune of being behind the retreating pirates. "They simply should have responded to me instead of running, hmm?" the admiral drawled to himself, causing a few of his subordinates to give the man odd looks. You never got completely used to how Admiral Kizaru functioned after all.

They had all heard the stories about the fanciful admiral's past. Some said he was often like a joker, even more than he was now, and loved to play pranks on his fellow soldiers. Others told of a solemn side he had reserved for his close friends and even fewer spoke of the relationship he once held with a very special woman. Those few would become tightlipped anytime someone tried to inquire more information about this mysterious lady friend that the infamous light logia had been rumored that he was courting. Or rather, had been courting.

Certain, inquisitive marines with little sense of life preservation could be found digging away at military records and information. Many of the higher up marine officers also placed bets on who would discover the tightly held information about a certain woman. The months leading up to now, Admiral Kizaru staring down the downed mangrove and the destroyed buildings around it, had taught the recruits nothing until one of them spotted movement ahead.

As if on cue, a woman stumbled out of a building, covered in dust as part of her building collapsed. "Sir?" one of the marines inquired before pointing ahead towards the movement. "She looks familiar. Similar almost to the photographs I have seen of marines reported MIA." The admiral sent a slight bit of Observation Haki towards the woman as an ordinary person should not have been able to move around so quickly after a building collapsed around and on them.

"What would prompt you to look into that, hmm?" the logia almost scowled before rolling his shoulders briefly. "I suppose I should investigate."

A quick beam of light that the admiral turned himself into sent him right next to the stirring woman. Sure enough, Admiral Kizaru recognized, barely but still, the woman scrambling out of the debris. "Wow my head… Never knew how fast those memories rush back. Always thought that was some cliché bullshit." The woman was very tall, her height only becoming even more obvious as she fully stood. The blonde hair, in a pixie cut, framed her face but her intense green eyes held all the marines' attention. The summer dress she wore was tailor made by the looks of it, going to her midthigh in a deep green color. The halter of the top part of the dress showed her shoulder muscles as rather bulky for a civilian however. Then the long legs exposed were toned from more than casual walking. She noticed the tall admiral coming towards her and her jaw dropped almost comically as she recognized someone she had not seen in years. "Borsalino-kun?" she gasped weakly in disbelief before a wide, uncertain smile erupted. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she tackled the logia, causing him to grunt with effort so he would not topple over to the ground.

The marines and the pirates around find it a bit incredible considering the man had several bullets go through his body with no ill effect and that this 'civilian' has a firm, tangible hold over him. "Sere-chan?" he asked in disbelief but the confirming nod from the blonde woman causes a smile to radiate from him. "It really is you, my Serenity." He looked her over and was about to frown at something he noticed. _She looks exactly the same as when I last saw her. But that was so long ago. How did you not age?_

The woman began to weep into the admiral's suit, uncaring about everyone else around. "I missed you so much! I tried so hard to get back to Marineford…" She sniffed before she felt the cold barrel of a gun against the back of her head. Instead of freaking out or wailing, she merely halted her statement. "This is rather unpleasant," she commented offhandedly as she attempted to glance towards the pirate but he only pressed the weapon more firmly against her skull. The admiral and marines noticed that the relaxed and relieved expression she had a few seconds ago evaporated into a firm and unyielding stature.

"If we can't kill Admiral Kizaru, you're good enough for now." The pirate became annoyed however when the woman he was threatening leaned away from the gun just to look at the admiral with pride.

"You really are an admiral," Serenity smirked as she pecked him affectionately on the cheek. "So this nice suit of yours isn't just for show, eh Kizaru-kun?"

_She's addressing him so informally,_ a few of the marines thought with shock but the pirate was becoming more hostile as the pair began to ignore him still.

"Only an admiral is worthy of your attentions, Serenity-chan. I waited for you for a long time," he purred before glancing at the pirate. "Can you go away now, mmm? You're ruining the atmosphere."

The pirate's jaw drop out of sheer disbelief and even a few of the nearby marines groaned. "Atmosphere?!" In retaliation he was about to hit the woman in the head with the butt of the gun but she quickly elbowed his nose. "Gah!" he sputtered, immediately dropping the gun to touch his face gingerly. She crouched quickly to sweep his legs with a quick kick, causing him to tumble on the ground. He stared up at her as she stuck a foot on his chest, the spiky heel of the boot digging in quite powerfully.

"Welcome back… Vice Admiral Serenity the Immediate," Kizaru purred as he wrapped his arms around the woman. Her glinting emerald eyes softened for a moment as she turned to him, a soft smile on her face. "Your reactions are a bit slower than before it seems."

"I'm sorry dear. The memories of how to fight are still returning to me and this body isn't as toned as I remember it to be." The pirate gulped as he saw blood drip off her boot as she finally wretched her heel free from his chest. The green depths of her eyes started to scare the pirate as she looked at her boots and sighed. "And now I have _filthy pirate_ blood on my boot. That's just unacceptable. Almost as unacceptable as being able to get back to headquarters after becoming free of captivity."

"Just don't go overboard in punishing yourself," the admiral drawled as the heel of the female's boot crashed onto the pirate's skull, instantly cracking it open and killing him. "And don't you think that was a bit extreme?"

Serenity smirked as they walked away from the dead pirate. "He was a pirate that admitted his failures in killing you. I have _no_ reason to spare him at all," she huffed with her arms crossed. "But enough of worrying over _that_," she hissed as if discussing the very nature of piracy was venomous. "I've missed you so much."

"What did happen anyway?" he inquired as he motioned over to some marines to clean up the mess. "After _that_ mission, you vanished." He paused for a moment as the pain in his heart was practically tangible in his voice. "You vanished after making me swear that stupid promise."

"I know," she whispered softly as she reached for his hand. Despite his emotional state, he did allow her to hold it and in fact, gripped her hand tightly as if it was his lifeline. "Please tell me, Borsalino-kun. My men, did they get a proper burial service when their ship was discovered?"

"Your ship was in shambles," he told her gently, prompting a few tears from the woman who so easily killed a pirate in cold blood. "Only a part of it was intact. The deck in fact and it was piled with the bodies of your crew." The flinch he felt made it feel even more heartbreaking as he pulled her close, whispering softly. "Your navigator was alive enough to get the bodies onto the deck but himself, he was a wreck."

"Taka," she whispered softly as she trembled. "What happened to Taka?"

"After telling us your ship encountered the Whitebeard Pirates, what they said to you and after they took you, he resigned his position in the marines and took his life for failing to protect his comrades and his superior."

"He was a good man," she said softly. While not a fighter, the navigator had embedded himself quite firmly within the very short list of friends that Serenity had for herself.

"So what happened exactly?" the admiral pushed as the passed a group of pirates, gawking at the admiral and the female with relative surprise until Kizaru kicked into the air, causing a beam of light to crash into a few of them. A few pirates tried what the first one had and approached Serenity instead but she drew a dagger from her dress sleeve and easily slit the throats of the approaching thugs without even blinking an eye.

"Not meaning to be rude, but we've only heard of the infamous Vice Admiral Serenity the Immediate through stories." The woman turned to see the admiral's subordinates look up at her with wonder and curiosity.

"The story can only be properly told if we start at the beginning. That's the only way to understand and I suppose myself, I don't get it either."

"Long story short, Serenity-chan was a snob from Pucci and we eventually got together when her ship was destroyed on her first official mission after being promoted to vice admiral."

The summary given however displeased the female _marine_, causing her to glare at the jovial admiral. "That's a poor tale. Where's the detail? The angst? The romance? All those damn times you tried to one up me in training?"

A smirk was shot back at her however. The marines around them noticed the relaxed manner was even more pronounced than normal. The admiral was truly at ease now. "Tried? If you recall, I triumphed over you in training. Sakazuki is an eyewitness to that."

"If you remember what sensei said…" she was about to protest before sighing in resignation. "You're trying to rile me up again. Damn you," she chuckled before closing her eyes as he gave her a brief kiss on the forehead. "The story. We should tell your subordinates since they apparently are curious. After all, if I'm going to return back to service, it's best if people know who I am."


	2. Past: Meeting

More than a bit surprised at the inspiration that just flowed today :o You all shall enjoy it!  
A follow and a favorite so far make me happy :D

Also a thanks to reviewers Maltwarrior and OtakuForLife! I really enjoy the feedback and it is always fun to see what is on everyone's mind.  
+ Maltwarrior: This idea has been in my head for _months_. Literally had a character sheet and tropes figured out and I just decided fuck it. Let's post it and see if anyone likes ^_^  
+ OtakuForLife: I have been in a rather Kizaru mood myself! The fact my husband can imitate most of his phrases is a bit enjoyable but just makes me think how there needs to be more written about him!

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Past: Meeting**

_"My childhood spat back out the monster that you see" – __My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark __– Fall Out Boy_

* * *

Borsalino grinned as he looked at the bright day greeting them before he heard his friend Sakazuki groan at him with annoyance. "Why did you drag me out here? The orientation isn't for a few hours, Borsalino."

"Huh, and you're the one being super picky about wanting to be the best marine possible. Thought you'd be a bit more excited, hmm?" The lax recruit dodged a fist but merely heard the growl his friend gave off and held his hands up. "Hey! Save the attitude for the other recruits. I'm your friend, remember?"

"Sometimes I wonder how the two of us got grouped together in the barracks," Sakazuki muttered as he pulled down the marine cap he was given over his eyes. "And it's too damn bright. If we're going to be awake in this sun, at least let me grab some breakfast or you owe me some sake for putting up with this shit."

"So moody, Sakazuki. Fine, breakfast it is," Borsalino sighed as he waited for his friend to follow him to a café near the civilian port since as it was before orientation, they were not yet allowed in the marine mess hall. "So… you excited?" He attempted broach the question as he saw his friend cool off slightly after they placed their order.

A thin brow was raised as the bulkier of the duo dug into some rice and fish. "I suppose. Good to finally be able to join. Wish I was able to before but your parents sponsoring both of us here does help a bit."

"Eh, sorry you had to wait til I was ready," the thinner man apologized as he smeared some cream cheese onto a bagel. "But at least we're finally here, right? And we'll kick ass so fast, that our ages won't even matter."

"Whatever you say, old man," Sakazuki muttered but before Borsalino could retort with an equally inaccurate insult, the door of the café opened to reveal a group of females engaged in chatter. Or rather, most of them were chatter.

There were seven of them in total but one of the girls hung near the back of the group, seemingly bored or uncaring of what her companions were chattering about. "Look at that girl, Sakazuki. She's a looker."

"Huh?" The younger man glanced up and looked at the women then shrugged and returned to his food until his friend elbowed him again. "What?"

"The one near the back that looks pissed off at the world." Rolling his eyes, Sakazuki glanced to see who his friend was going on about and raised an eyebrow slightly.

She had blonde hair in two pigtails that hung down over her shoulders rather than sticking straight out from her head but what caught the marine recruits' eyes were her own eyes. The emerald green hue was even beyond the hard stoniness that Sakazuki's had but they looked annoyed, even being among obviously familiar company. She was fairly tall, similar to Borsalino and Sakazuki, to the point she made the rest of her companions look like dwarves in comparison but her build was rather lean to the point she was comparable in bulk to Borsalino if he was a woman. "Ty-chan, look! They have the cream cheese type you like."

At being addressed, the blonde woman raised her eyebrow and moved her head to look at the one who called her. "I hate that nickname," she muttered before turning to address the cashier for the café.

"Looks good doesn't she?" Borsalino murmured as he chewed on the bagel he had. "Her friends seem a bit more of my type though."

"You already sold the last bagel?" the woman's clear voice rang out through the café. Although quiet, it had a terse type of authority that it made the two marine recruits pay attention. "I see… I'll meet you all later."

"Ty-chan, you're really not going to get anything just because of a stupid bagel?" One of the women said, causing the blonde to turn sharply.

"I don't like eggs in the morning and as appealing as bacon and sausage are, I cannot just eat meat by itself. Balance!" she scowled before sweeping away from her friends, past Sakazuki and Borsalino's table.

"You could, you know, offer her one of the five bagels you bought?" Sakazuki muttered quietly but the words seemed to reach the blonde woman as before she left the café, she gripped the door frame tightly before departing finally.

"So?" Borsalino replied cheekily. "Maybe if she came over and asked, I'd ask her on a date in exchange."

His friend shook his head in disbelief. "You're such a child sometimes. You know, she's likely a recruit."

"Like how all of her friends are too? Don't make me laugh Sakazuki."

* * *

-Orientation-

* * *

"Sakazuki, you're a cruel bastard," Borsalino whined slightly as he stared at Admiral Zephyr look over all of them with an appraising eye. Sure enough, all the women that were in the café were new recruits but the most memorable of them was also there and had been shooting the lanky recruit the dead eye since they started.

"You brought it on yourself," his friend muttered before turning away to pay attention to the admiral's words.

"Like I said, maggots, today I want to see you all spar and squirm. This way, we can match the potential of the marines to who they are closest in terms of ability and power. Growing together is our goal but also we want to make sure that you form close bonds with those of similar power. After all…" The admiral then stared down each of the marines and even the female from the café seemed to straight slightly from his gaze. "I have high expectations for each and every one of you. Let's show the future how the marines are!"

Cheers erupted and even Sakazuki cracked half a smile for this. "Look at that, Sakazuki. You look motivated."

"You know damn well I am," he growled in annoyance. "So you think anyone will be grouped with us, power wise?"

"Doubt it," the lanky man shrugged as he looked their fellow recruits over. "I mean, look at how we're a few years over the rest of the recruits. Half of them look like they barely got out of diapers."

"Just cut the chatter and spar with me," Sakazuki rolled his eyes at his friend's behavior. Despite the jovial and joking attitude, he knew well that Borsalino could back up his talk. "Don't blame me if you aren't the top dog around here."

"Oh?" Borsalino smirked as he parried one of his friend's punch with a kick that sent the jab to the side but Sakazuki pulled back his arm in an attempt to elbow in retaliation. The force of the kick however had sent Borsalino far enough back to avoid the elbow and his smirk only widened as he motioned with his hand for Sakazuki to continue. "Is that all?"

A fire seemed to have lit in regards to Sakazuki's motivations and his fists were in a flurry, putting his mouthy friend on the defensive. "You know plenty well it isn't!" Sakazuki roared in anger before he finally connected before frowning upon realizing that his friend caught his fist. Barely but still, a catch was a catch. "Damn it."

"Your turn," Borsalino practically sang as he gave a spinning roundhouse kick and almost caught Sakazuki's arm but the bulky man blocked the attack before pushing the leg away from him just to get tripped up by a sudden, sweeping low kick. "You got nothing on my speed."

From where he had been knocked down, Sakazuki rolled into a crouch. "Maybe I'll get serious now," he sneered before leaping up towards his friend while Borsalino lifted his leg to do an axe kick before his leg and Sakazuki's right fist were caught by Admiral Zephyr.

"Impressive you two but I'll need to mix it up a bit. We have an odd number of recruits and you two seem closer to her abilities than the other recruits."

_Her?_ Both of the men gave each other a glance and Borsalino immediately looked at the blonde female recruit that followed the admiral.

"My name is Serenity. Pleased to meet you, gentlemen," she bowed deeply before looking both men in the eye. "I'm sure we'll have quite a bit of fun."

"I'm Borsalino and my scowling friend is Sakazuki," the grinning man introduced them as he reached out with a hand, intending to shake hers.

"So who do I spar with first? Chuckles or Bagel Boy?" she replied with a slightly raised eyebrow as she glanced between the two of them in an attempt to measure them up.

The impromptu nicknames however prompted a laugh from Sakazuki. "This will be interesting. I'll volunteer if you show this much spunk in a fight."

The woman grinned widely but she dodged a butterfly kick from Borsalino. "No way, Sakazuki. While you were glaring at me during our spar, I was paying attention. She's much closer to my way of fighting."

"Kicks huh?" When Serenity nodded to confirm Sakazuki's words, he shrugged. "This will be interesting then. I'm willing to wait." He dropped down to give one armed push-ups. "Don't lose," he commented lightly as he sped through the workout.

"I won't," Serenity promised with a smirk as she glanced towards Borsalino and they began circling around each other, bouncing lightly on their feet.

"I believe he was speaking to me," Borsalino said smoothly as he dashed forward and tried to perform a sidekick.

"So why did he wink at me?" Serenity smirked as she spun out of the way and caught the man's leg before changing her stance and attempting to spin and hurl her fellow recruit but he pushed against the ground and flicked his foot towards her chin, causing her head to snap up. "That was jarring."

"I appreciate your honesty," the Borsalino laughed but did not expect her to appear behind him and knee him in the side. "Gah!"

"Wouldn't want to lie to my comrades, would I?" Serenity smiled brightly but a few drops of rain poured over them, causing her to look up. "We'll continue won't we? It'd be a shame to stop now, wouldn't it?"

"You two didn't realize it but Zephyr-sensei dismissed us for the day," Sakazuki commented almost brightly as he held up an umbrella against the rain. "It's almost lunch time and I want some curry. Serenity-san, shall we escort you and your roommate?"

"Don't have a roommate, Sakazuki-kun." He lifted an eyebrow at the casual form of address. "But I wouldn't say no to an escort. Zephyr-sensei wouldn't have put me with you two if we weren't going to be grouped together or am I wrong?"

"Why no roommate, eh Serenity-chan?" Borsalino attempted to lean onto the female marine recruit but she sidestepped him, causing him to fall against Sakazuki's umbrella.

"Odd number of recruits this year plus none of my acquaintances wished to room with me. Matters not. More privacy for me," Serenity commented offhandedly as she walked slightly ahead of the two men before turning back. "Lunch?"

"You cooking it?" Borsalino grinned but the woman scoffed.

"You wish I was cooking for you. I believe Sakazuki-kun mentioned curry."

"I've known Sakazuki for ages for ages and he eats too damn much of that dish."

"Are you dissing on curry?" Sakazuki and Serenity said at the same time, sporting identical glares towards the lanky man.

"Figures a moody woman would get along with you," Borsalino growled as he received a scowl and glare.

"You're just jealous, Borsalino-kun."

"I could ask one of your friends if they'd want me to escort them to lunch," he sniffed in annoyance.

"They'd want that a bit too much and they aren't my friends. The minute they made it clear to me that they _all_ are here to husband shop rather than saving lives and eliminating pirates, I lost interest in keeping a friendship." This caused both men to look at her due to the raw, pained tone and both were surprised at the oddly vulnerable look she was giving off. "Actually, excuse me. I've found that I have lost my appetite." She turned away and left them without a further glance back.

"That was exceedingly awkward. I felt like I was wading in a pool of ice," Borsalino commented lightly.

"It's none of our business," Sakazuki shrugged before his friend sighed.

"We're grouped with her now, remember? It's going to be our business now."

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"Scoring high on the exam, eh Sakazuki? Strategy is your thing I suppose."

The bulky man did not bother to look at the posted results and instead, flipped a page in the book on geography he was browsing through. "Did I beat her?"

"Tied actually. But I beat both of you. Wonder how the hell that happened. She usually scores higher than us by a few points but I suppose this recent test did have a few… moral dilemmas."

"Well aren't you just the shining star of us all?" Serenity drawled as she walked up to observe the results. "Better than I had previously predicted."

"Oh?" Borsalino could not help but be curious as Serenity had shown some aptitude towards the more studious side than he did.

"Sensei wrote quite a few remarks, in a red pen even, that my attitude towards pirates is a red flag and my moral priorities are rather skewed."

This made Sakazuki pause in his page flipping. "Even I didn't have any remarks despite being scored down on that particular question. I _even_ tried to be sarcastic."

"Even more than usual, Sakazuki?" Borsalino had a frown on his face as he watched Serenity's eyes darken quite a bit before she stiffened quite a bit. "Look, whatever the question is, it's not like they'll kick you out of the marines or anything."

"It'd be a waste of Vice Admiral Garp's time then. He did scout me back in Pucci after all," Serenity commented quietly as she crossed her arms.

"You were scouted too?" Borsalino beamed before sighing. "That grump Sengoku scouted the two of us."

"He's a rather badass admiral though," Serenity murmured quietly. "I do enjoy his lessons but he did write a bit heavily on my essay though." Her eyes hardened though as she tightened her jaw. "But even marines like me are necessary."

"What kind of marine are you?" Borsalino asked with curiosity as he could not help but eye her up and down. "You aren't just here for your looks after all."

"Keep dreaming, Borsalino-kun." Sakazuki noticed however that despite the tone, her eyes softened for half a second before turning hard again. "Flattery won't win you over with me."

"But Sakazuki's cruelty does." This caused both Sakazuki and Serenity to look at each other and snort.

"No way in hell."

"Just get ready for Zephyr-sensei's workload. He's making us… diversify," Sakazuki commented with a groan as he remembered the conversation he overheard.

"Eh. Could be worse. Get through this and I can make it to the florist's shop," Serenity shrugged as she readjusted her pigtails.

"Why…?"

"Don't be nosy," the female marine scowled as she stomped away, leaving two confused men next to the results.

"What was that about?" Sakazuki asked before turning back to his book.

"I was going to ask that. How would I know?" He glanced towards where Serenity had gone off to but noticed she was out of sight anyway. "So… How about we just follow her?"

"No. I have no interest in _stalking_ her about flowers."

"Sakazuki, that reaction was rather tense. You know there's got to be something interesting to make that elegant babe gloomy."

"She'll get very tired of those comments. Especially if she finds out that you've been flirting with Elyse."

At that, Borsalino nearly choked on air. "She doesn't call Elyse a friend anymore so whatever. It's not like Serenity gives a shit about what we do anyway. So long as we're alive to spar with her, she's not happy or content but rather… Shit, what do you call it? Peacefully apathetic."

"Still, respect her. She does hold some respect for you…" Sakazuki's eyes widened as he thought on it. "Deep, deep, deep down. Somewhere." He then cleared his throat and sighed. "Alright, moving on."

"Sakazuki, I want to know why she is so secretive about her past for. Is that so bloody bad?"

Stowing his book away, Sakazuki led the way to the training grounds. "Just ask her about it. Without being a pest."

"I resent that. I do not pester. I am going to politely inquire about it."

"Inquire about what? And about time you two showed up. Zephyr-sensei was giving me a foul look for not knowing when you two would show up," Serenity droned with boredom as she stretched her arms. "I need to practice my punches today. Sakazuki-kun, be my punching bag?"

"I feel so neglected," Borsalino whined as he dramatically placed his hand over his heart. "How will I ever recover?"

"Call your mother on the Den Den Mushi and have her kiss it for you. Both of you then. Now," Serenity sneered as she dashed forward with her right fist ready.

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"I feel bad now," Borsalino thought as he slumped onto a park bench a few blocks away from where they had followed Serenity to. "Like, she actually has a heart."

"I admit, seeing her place flowers on the graves of children and dead marines is a bit… Unexpected. But doesn't it only prove the point of you can't judge a book by its cover?" Sakazuki murmured as he sipped a cup of coffee he had grabbed before being literally grabbed to follow their comrade on her little flower errand. "We should leave before she spots us."

"What's the use? She can't hate me more than she already does," Borsalino said quietly as he looked down at his hands. "I know you heard what I heard, Sakazuki. We both have really good ears but as loathe as I am to admit it, yours are better."

"But did you hear what I heard? 'I swear, I'll make up for just watching while your deaths were in front of me?' That's a bit grim and I'm even saying that now. Like she doesn't really know my background either but damn. Wonder who died in front of her."

"I'm going to tell you to take your own advice. Ask her," Borsalino sighed. "The shoe is on the other foot now."

"Just because she talks to me sometimes doesn't mean she'll say anything. Besides, she's rather moody today, even for her. Do you know why?"

* * *

-Earlier That Day-

* * *

As Serenity stepped into the women's showers to wash the sweat that had coated her from the day's training, she scowled on hearing a few words from her former friends. "Why does Ty get everything handed to her? It's just not bloody fair."

"Elyse, she could be here," another female voice murmured softly but Elyse merely scoffed.

"Why do I care, Hana? It's not like she even wants to hang out or anything. Too good to go to the bar with us or anything. She got so stuck up since leaving Pucci. I swear if Kaito-kun was still alive…"

Serenity wrapped her hair as she was as finished with the conversation as she was with her thankfully brief shower. "Elyse, this is where I stop your senseless babbling. Kaito has nothing to do with…"

"At least he kept you from being a stick in the mud. Nothing was wrong when you were with him," Elyse retorted as she flipped a lock of shimmering blonde hair over her shoulder in disdain. "You had something good with him but a simple thing…"

She could no longer speak as Serenity's hand closed over her throat as Elyse was pushed onto the walls. Female squeals of alarm and hysteria spread until Serenity's cold voice intoned darkly. "That's enough. You know well enough what happened." She released her former friend before glancing at all of them. "What?"

"Ty-chan… Why do you hate us now?" Hana spoke up, a rarity in itself as she often went with whatever Elyse had ordained and rarely stood up to anyone.

"I don't hate you. Any of you. I however disapprove as you're using a noble organization like the Marines to scout for potential husbands," Serenity's voice came out almost like an accusatory hiss. "Even you're guilty of that, Hana."

"Can you blame us?" another girl spoke out before covering her mouth.

"Why Cho? You're good with guns so you could earn a lot of respect with your marksmen skills but no. Instead, you flirt with so many of the men here that it is rather shocking. You used to be a sweet, shy girl but what now?" Serenity's voice echoed almost hollowly in the showers. Sadness tinged the tone almost like a brush with oil. "Are you all so scared?"

"We're not strong enough like you Ty-chan that we can just stand up to everyone. You always had to bail us out before in the orphanage when something happened."

"So, was I just the convenient protector until something better came along?" The pigtailed blonde's tone seemed to crack for a second before she tightened her fist and hardened her eyes. "You don't have to worry about using me anymore if I'm not around." Turning quickly, she was soon out of reach but not out of her hearing range as she could still the whispers until she was several meters away. _Why won't they stop fucking talking? And they had to bring up Kaito! _

"Nity-chan," Borsalino practically sang but then he had to dodge a rather irate chop to the side. "Whoa there. Someone's a bit grouchy."

"Call me that and I'll rip out your voice box," the blonde muttered. "And get out of my way please. Not in the mood at all."

"I can kiss it and make it all better?" he offered. Usually the flirty taunting would get a snappy remark out of her and they would be back to the banter that he almost enjoyed but instead, she actually _sighed_.

"Just please no." A sniffle followed which almost made Borsalino's jaw drop because he saw what looked like sadness on his comrade's face. "Please excuse me."

She ran past Sakazuki who had barely emerged from the men's showers, causing the bulky marine to throw his best friend a cautious look. "What happened? She looks like someone kicked her puppy."

"No idea. I'll ask Elyse since she's coming out of the showers now."

Before Borsalino could go along with his plan of flirting some information out of the female recruit, Sakazuki grabbed his elbow. "Hold on there, lover boy. I have a gut feeling that asking her about this is a bad idea."

"Nonsense," he said smoothly as he sauntered over to the blonde. "Hey Elyse-chan, what was up with Serenity?"

Even without the speed he possessed or the awareness he had of his surroundings, he saw the slap coming a mile away and thus easily avoided it. "I haven't talked to you all day and you ask about _her_?"

"Uh yeah. She is my teammate after all," Borsalino reasoned but he was answered with an angry huff.

"Why do all the guys care about her? What's so fucking great about her? Kaito was all over her. You two constantly follow her like puppies and even our senseis love her. What is up with that?" Elyse roared, reminding the two men very much of dragons.

"Maybe not tugging your shirt line to push up your chest whenever Zephyr-sensei is looking at you would help?" Borsalino advised but without glasses, it was obvious what held his eyes' attention. "As much as I appreciate a good pair every now and then, now it's a bit much. Especially when you fight like crap in comparison." Sidestepping the next slap, he called to Sakazuki who was doing his damn hardest to avoid this awkward conversation like the plague. "Let's go, Sakazuki. I found out something."

"You made sense of that?"

Borsalino raised an eyebrow. "Well, other than her friends not really giving two shits about her apparently and having inferiority complexes as well as in general jealousy, we get to find out who this Kaito person is."

"This is a bit too personal though," Sakazuki pointed out, obviously out of his comfort zone when it came to dealing with anyone's past, particularly a woman's.

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"Elyse, why do you keep flirting with Borsalino-kun? Even if he does stare at your chest, that doesn't mean he's interested," Serenity sneered as she passed her former friends on the way to her favorite shower stall. "It's a bit pathetic now actually."

"Why do you care? You don't realize what a great team you've gotten between those two," her fellow blonde hissed but Serenity merely rolled her eyes as she pulled the shower curtains closed, separating the two. "I mean seriously, I would kill to see either of those two without a shirt."

"You couldn't even kill a fly," Serenity pointed out with a clucking tongue. "And death is a bit much for you to stare at someone isn't it?"

"It's a damn expression. Just because you can't appreciate their masculinity, doesn't mean no one else can look," Elyse proclaimed before leaving the locker room.

_Fool. Sakazuki would never give her the time of day and even I heard about that slap she attempted to give Borsalino-kun. It was amusing when he asked me if she went insane or something. Odd that we agreed on something but it was bound to happen eventually._ Serenity poured some shampoo into her hands and ran it through her hair, humming almost melodiously. She massaged her scalp but could not help but think on Elyse's words. _I guess they both would look rather nice… Better than nice actually. But I think I'd actually prefer… Gah, what am I thinking?_ Serenity quickly changed the water's temperature as she felt her cheeks flush at her thoughts. _No! No perving on Borsalino. Stupid Elyse. Why did I have to think of him first? Just why?_

Stepping out of the shower after a few moments of pouring ice water, she dried her hair and sighed as she stepped out of the locker room. She tied her hair as she went into her signature pigtails but she did not get the peace she was thinking of. "Serenity-chan," she heard a voice that normally was filled with enthusiasm be quiet and almost serious.

"Borsalino-kun. Want to rub it in more how sensei cut me off from kicking your ass?" she replied almost automatically before wincing at how she sounded. "Sorry," she said quietly before seeing the smile that erupted on his face.

"For what? That was pretty good though. You know, the reason he cut you off was how you pinned me or are you intentionally blocking that out, eh Sere-chan?"

Memories of that morning's spar suddenly were relived in Serenity's mind, making her flush red. She had decided that day would be the day she pulled a fast one on Borsalino and decided when she managed to ground him, that she would straddle him to keep him pinned long enough for her to land a punch. She then remembered all too well how her comrade had frozen in shock but she was so hyped up on actually being close to beating him that the nature of the pose did not strike her… until now. "I… Sorry," she flushed even deeper crimson. "That explains Sakazuki's face and why he laughed."

"I think Sakazuki wouldn't have been affected by you doing that but maybe if I did… Who am I kidding? He'd kill me if I tried," Borsalino sighed dramatically. "Anyways, you seem a bit… out of it. Need some ice cream?"

"I'll buy," Serenity attempted to offer but Borsalino put his hands up.

"I'd rather pay for the lady, hmm? Unless you don't think you're one?" At her silence, he grinned. "Besides, I want to ask you a few things."

Serenity tensed and she felt the annoyance she normally carried for this man surface until she saw him roll his shoulders and then the blush she had barely forced down threatened to reemerge. _Damn those muscles. His shirt makes him look so… Gah. _"What questions?" she asked cautiously as she tried to school her expression into its normal mask of indifference.

_Well then, there was some flickering of emotion there. _"Well, since Sakazuki is studying for the navigation exam like the mad man he is, I thought I could get to know you better. Since we're grouped up and all. A bit of quid pro quo or whatever."

Serenity wanted to turn down the offer, even with the promise of free ice cream but from a strategic viewpoint, she knew there was no reason to not to. _I might get to learn a bit about both of them too…_ "Sure. Question for question and only after I have ice cream in front of me."

"I suppose that's fair, eh?" Borsalino put his arm around her and she stiffened at the contact but did not blush. She merely looked surprised and even a bit shocked. "Stop looking like I'm going to bite your head off. "

"I'm just unused to this. I mean, look at us. We're actually not at each other's throats… yet." This caused the lanky man to roar with laughter.

"Yet. Although you're making me see you in quite a different light due to this morning. You do have a rather elegant neck, Sere-chan."

She did not know why she did not feel like correcting him on the nickname but she thought on how he said it. _The way he makes my name roll very slightly… Damn it, not again!_ "Thank you. It's nice to know that I could use that against you."

"Oh? Dazzle me a bit in the next spar and beat me? Then Sakazuki would be left out!"

She snickered slightly but then she thought of their teammate and smiled. "What is the story between you two, anyway? It's obvious you know each other before joining the marines."

"Already forgot that you wanted ice cream before the questioning, hmm? Or so eager to hear my voice? I know it's amazing."

"And overestimating your own value yet again," she fired back automatically before both of them laughed. "Why do we rile each other up? I don't get the point now that I think on it."

"If Sakazuki was here, he'd likely say something about trying to psych the other person out. And I suppose we both kind of have dominating personalities." Serenity's eyebrow rose and he chuckled as he began to explain. "I have a louder and in your face kind of personality but you are a background type of person that everyone just knows is there. Different but still commanding."

"So that's why back then Elyse and the rest of them used to listen to me? Makes sense I suppose," Serenity sighed. "We're all orphans from Pucci. Some pirates had gone rampant and we all suffered from the same attack. Thus, we got stuck in the same boat so to speak and ended up looking out for each other."

"I see. You have more in common with Sakazuki than I thought. Surprised the rest of those girls aren't more motivated then to be a proper marine." Serenity could not help but smile at Borsalino's assessment of her former friends.

"They used to be, don't get me wrong. It used to be really enjoyable, dreaming about how we were going to help out everyone and make sure that no one has to lose their family again…" Serenity's voice shook slightly at that. "I don't know when it began. Us drifting apart or rather, me drifting away. But I… I can't stand pirates, Borsalino. You know that more than anyone. The reason that exam back then was marked down for me is because of that very reason. Sensei believed that the bloodlust I have when it comes to a pirate would put others at risk. It's how Vice Admiral Garp had scouted me. I had turned in the dead body of a pirate."

"That pirate's name?" Borsalino wondered but then Serenity's eyes hardened as she was about to silence herself again but then he reached out for her wrist. His next question however put her slightly at ease. "You'll remember it for the rest of your life, won't you?"

"His name… The crew he was affiliated with… Everything."


	3. Current: Reacquainting

Please enjoy everyone! It is always nice to hear or see how people like this :)

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Current: Reacquainting**

_"Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness, I need to calculate what creates my own madness." – __Getting Away with Murder__ – Papa Roach_

* * *

"Borsalino-kun, stop poking me. We're still supposed to explain," Serenity scolded the admiral lightly but she could not help the slight smile that curled her lips.

"They can hear later. I want… no. I need to catch up with you," Kizaru smirked as he offered his arm. "Walk with me."

"If you insist," Serenity sighed dramatically before flashing a smile towards the admiral's subordinates. Several of them gave goofy responses before giving the two space to talk. "What's on your mind, love?"

"I've missed you saying that," he sighed quietly before reaching for her hand. "How many years was it? How many years have we been apart without contact?"

"Twenty," Serenity answered quickly. "By the time I managed to escape Whitebeard's crew, five years had elapsed. I… I was here. The whole time after I was stuck on Sabaody."

Borsalino's brow furrowed almost in anger. "Fifteen years where there was a marine base? You never were one to procrastinate, Serenity-chan. Especially in matters of the heart either. Unless you didn't care for me?" he asked in a hurt tone. "Was there a reason you told me to essentially abandon you if I hadn't heard from you in a year?"

"Borsalino-kun, I know you heard what I said when I came out of the rubble."

"Something about memory stuff being bullshit?"

"Exactly. Borsalino-kun, for fifteen years I did not know anything about myself other than my own name and one other important fact that you don't know."

"Being left in the dark isn't pleasing to me," the logia scowled in annoyance. "And the memory loss seems a bit too convenient."

"The old me would want to say 'fuck you if you don't believe me' but I know how you work. You need to see it to believe it. So my love, believe me." Extending out her arm, Borsalino's eyes widened comically as feathers started to extend and grow out of her skin quickly. Her own eyes seemed to sharpen like a hawk's but then she quickly receded the transformation as it was apparent that she felt uncomfortable. "Your eyes make me nervous when you watch me so closely."

"Devil fruit?" he asked with his voice sounding choked for a moment as she nodded slowly. "You never wanted to eat any fruit. Well at first you did until you thought we would drown in what?"

"Your own ego and sea water," Serenity hummed until she rolled her shoulder. "Someone had to be around to save your ass if you ever fell off the boat."

"And your marine clothing looked very flattering on you when drenching wet. How it clung to you… Damn it, you distracted me!" Serenity's flush was not missed however and Kizaru grinned widely. "You know if you wanted to reacquaint me with your body… Actually wait. How do you look so damn young?"

"Devil fruit," she responded with slight irritation. "If you actually let me finish, you'd know how but I suppose you're as impatient as always."

"Would you have me any other way?" he asked but before he could respond, he lifted his head as he heard an explosion and therefore he felt out with a bit of Observation Haki. "Seems Sentomaru-kun is confronting the threat. Let's go. Best way to integrate yourself back to active duty."

"Sentomaru? I had his newest outfit ready in the shop. Oh what's that's look for? Oh yeah, I need to explain. I was in Sabaody five years after my disappearance as it was the first place I could go to send a message to headquarters when I lost my memory. I was taken in by a kindly old woman who said I reminded her of her dead daughter and when she soon passed away, I took over her shop. I am or was, a tailor for Sabaody's various residents." She paused before pointing at Borsalino in outrage. "You destroyed her shop! You asshole!"

"It was an accident," he held his arms up as if in surrender. "Shit happens, Sere-chan, and you know that."

"Hmph. We'll see. I'm going to ask Sakazuki if this is a common occurrence when I see him. How is he by the way?"

"Other than being grouchy with an ever increasing stick up his ass, we're still best friends," the logia reported cheerfully before becoming slightly grim. "It took a while after your disappearance for him to calm down and not let his anger cloud his judgment. Kuzan didn't handle your disappearance well either but at least it didn't rear its head during a mission. Like Sakazuki's."

"I miss Kuzan too. He was like the little brother I never had," Serenity reminisced before looking down sadly. "I know you're angry at me but what's been going on with you? With me, there's still a lot to explain but I didn't realize I was missing something until you demolished my shop."

"What can I really say? I was heartbroken, damn it all. The woman I loved vanished and her crew mostly dead. Well, completely dead once your navigator committed suicide. Heard no news of you and any marine crew trying to get close to any of Whitebeard's vessels were silenced. That is until recently. Something big has happened and it has stirred that old pirate into action." Borsalino sighed as he really did not care about pirate politics in general but he noticed how hostile Serenity's stance had become. "I'm glad not everything about you is the same. If anything, you seem even more murderous when it comes to pirates. But in hindsight, I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"If you didn't interrupt, you'd know why I can't stand those pirates. Whitebeard himself or his crew. There is one that is even worse though. Just the very thought of him disgusts me more than anything." Borsalino raised an eyebrow with curiosity as he could feel the raw venom pouring off Serenity and just being close to her was starting to make him feel angry on her behalf. "Tell me, Borsalino, do you know what happened with a Whitebeard pirate named Marshall D. Teach?"

"He's the newest Shichibukai that was picked but he formed his own crew: the Blackbeard Pirates. I believe Fleet Admiral Sengoku had the displeasure of meeting him already but myself, haven't heard much about him."

"Sengoku-sensei is fleet admiral… Heh. I feel like I would have vaguely known that from living as a civilian but it didn't strike me until now how significant that is. Damn. We really were taught by the best." Her posture did not ease up though despite the admiration she had spoken of in regards to her sensei. "Just warning you, Borsalino-kun. No matter what Teach is, if I see him, I'll kill him."

"You've threatened Shichibukai in the past, Sere-chan. What could possibly make you actually follow through on this threat?" the light user wondered but he swore he saw her eyes sharpen like a bird's. "Your eyes are colder than I remember them last. Hell, they are even colder than when you joined up."

"That'll have to wait. Look! That's Sentomaru isn't it?" The admiral sighed as he nodded. Despite normally enjoying to see his subordinate, that was the last thing on his mind when the missing love of his life had surfaced after two decades of being missing. That plus the fact she obviously showed even more emotional damage than before was particularly worrying for the admiral. "That kid standing near him… or on the ground rather… That hit looked like it hurt. Haki isn't it? That kid looks familiar."

"You're acquainted with Monkey D. Luffy?" the admiral asked with no small amount of surprise before groaning. _This amnesia of hers is going to be troublesome, isn't?_

"A few hours ago, he asked for directions to a 'place with a lot of meat'. I gave him directions. Trust me, I'm not too thrilled knowing that he's an obvious enemy now but now I'm thinking of it this way. How many other pirates did I help out over these years without realizing I was a marine? This sickens me. I have so much to make up for."

"Sere-chan…" Borsalino started but he was cut off when Serenity rose her hand to silence him.

"I'll make up for him and reenter the marines at once. Let me take down Monkey D. Luffy under your lead."

"That would please the World Nobles, one of whom he struck. Would you really follow my orders though? We may have come to an understanding before but for us to have such a dramatic difference in rank now…"

"Don't rub it in please. I know you're more than pleased to be able to order me around in more ways than one," Serenity teased as she dropped her joking demeanor once they came within earshot of the bulky marine with a broadaxe. "Oi, Sentomaru-san!"

The man with the bowl cut looked up and frowned. "Eh? Uncle, why do you have one of Sabaody's tailors with you?"

"Oh you're that sewing lady," Luffy coughed from the ground but a laser beam shooting over him made the rubber man quiet. "Run!"

"I don't run from my allies or my enemies," Serenity scowled and Luffy almost shuddered at the cold tone. "Sentomaru-san, are you in charge of this creepy thing?" She motioned towards the bulky robotic man on standby a few meters away. "It's obviously not a person."

Admiral Kizaru was pleased that despite her body being physically behind in the years, at least her mental senses were sharp. "That is a pacifista. Modeled after Kuma if you remember him. He's a Shichibukai too."

"Fucks sake," Serenity swore as she looked at the creepy facsimile of a human. "Seriously, the World Government picks the creepiest and most insane people to be Shichibukai. Maybe I'll just kill him too and make it look like an accident."

"You're a tailor though…" Sentomaru looked in shock but he realized something was different about the woman that had tailored the uniforms and clothing for many of the marines throughout Sabaody as well as some of the nobles. Her stance was a lot more firm and commanding as well as the coldness in her eyes. "Serenity-san, what's going on?"

"You heard the rumors about the Immediate right, Sentomaru-kun?" Kizaru asked quickly, making his subordinate's eyes widen with shock. "And the woman I was going to propose to twenty years ago?" Now this statement caught Serenity's attention and made Sentomaru's eyes widen. "They're one and the same."

"You were going to propose to me?" Serenity sputtered out of shock, temporarily shaking her out of the determination she had to eliminate the rubbery pirate still sprawled on the ground. "We need to speak on this later. For now, shall I focus on this paramecia or disable his crew?"

"Leave my nakama out of this!" Luffy roared, unintentionally releasing a burst of Conqueror's, which pushed all the marines back.

Sentomaru stumbled slightly but the gradual push that Kizaru received made him smirk. "Well isn't this generation of pirates scary?" He then noticed that although Serenity was pushed back quite a distance, she had stopped any further movement as wings ripped through the back of her clothing, the dark feathers shimmered in the light. The rest of her body remained a human's however. "But it seems my woman is even scarier."

"Conqueror's Haki… You truly are a threat," Serenity's tone now was hollow and single minded in a dangerous sort of way. "I'll make up for my prior mistake and erase the danger you present." With a flap of her wings, Serenity propelled herself forward past the admiral and his subordinate.

"Serenity!" she heard a shout but she was zoning in on the rubbery pirate until she saw what appeared to be a paw pad come towards her from the side, forcing her into a nearby mangrove. "Kuma, you attacked a marine and vanished a pacifista!"

"I am only under the orders of the World Government," the partially modified human muttered coldly before glancing to the groaning winged woman. "I didn't send her off the island but merely off to the side into that tree. Be thankful. She still has a use."

"What?" Luffy coughed as he looked up at the _man_ who had protected him from a potentially dangerous assault from an unknown fruit user. "What are you talking about?"

"Where would you like to go, Monkey D. Luffy?" A swipe of a pawed hand later and the rubber man was gone.


	4. Past: Secrets

A thanks to Anime Is Forever for your review! I am glad you like how I write and the way I have Kizaru acting. I do try ^_^

Please enjoy everyone and feel free to let me know what you think :)

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Past: Secrets**

_"Morality is simply the attitude towards people whom we personally dislike" – Oscar Wilde_

* * *

"Where does she go I wonder…? Sakazuki, you have any idea?"

The bulky man scowled at his friend as he raised an eyebrow. "Anytime we don't know where she is, what gives you the idea that I might know? Just because I don't pick a fight with her doesn't mean I'm privy to her personal life." He made a shooing motion as he was polishing a sword he had picked up for their most recent lessons. "As long as she's alive, I don't care what she does on the weekend. If you do, just ask her out and be done with it."

"And be done with it? No wonder you're so popular with the ladies, Sakazuki," Borsalino teased as he received a rather murderous look from his friend. Unfortunately for him, many of the women found his gruff personality oddly endearing and many of them, particularly from Elyse's group, had made their interest well known in finding out if the grumpy marine had a soft spot for a certain lady. "Eh, don't give me that. Aren't you at least a little curious?"

"No. We tried to follow her like what, a month ago, and look what happened. We looked like assholes that can't respect her privacy." He then crossed his arms just as his friend was about to laugh. "I know I'm an asshole but I'd like to at least have some respect for what she does on her free time."

"Never knew you cared what others thought of you, Sakazuki." Borsalino dodged a half hearted punch before laughing. "It just is seems on the weekends, she vanishes for a bit then shows up happy and relaxed on the weekend. I wonder why."

"She never is truly happy. Just less angry," Sakazuki said quietly. "I know that feeling well."

Borsalino heard the tone in his friend's voice and hummed softly, letting his friend have some quiet while he walked around. He had tried to nose around and find out any details he could about Serenity but it seemed all her former comrades had nothing to say. Without realizing it, he had walked back into the academy and heard a raised voice. "That attitude will hold you back. How can you live with such a blasé and uncaring outlook on life?"

"How can I know what a caring attitude is?" a female voice coolly shot back and Borsalino almost froze when he realized that it was Serenity talking back against one of their senseis. "I don't care about getting used as long as my goals are achieved."

"Goals? What do you want, girl? To be an admiral one day?" Borsalino wanted so badly to listen but he was scared to be caught. However the topic was too intriguing to leave in the middle of.

"Don't care about my rank, Tsuru-sensei. I could be a lowly marine so long as a pirate died at the end of the day." The cold tone was very unsettling. "Why are we even having this talk? Garp-sensei already scouted me for here unless you're going to have me written up for something I haven't done yet."

_Written up? _ Borsalino thought with worry before he peeked in and noticed Tsuru's eyes seemingly go towards him. _Shit. She noticed me but has Serenity?_

"You know damn well you haven't done anything…yet. But I ask this. Can you put your petty hatred aside when you are needed as a marine?" Tsuru shot back to the recruit.

"Petty? I didn't realize that being made an orphan and having my life ruined by pirates made me utterly loathing any pirates made me a petty person. I thought I was rather justified but I promise you this sensei. If I ever get a rank, the world will not have to worry about a pirate escaping me. I personally ensure this." Quickly there was a shift in the room as Serenity walked out of the room, her brow creased angrily and she noticed Borsalino there and motioned with her head. "Spar now."

"Usually I prefer my dates to start with dinner and dancing," Borsalino started but he barely avoided getting kicked in the ribs. "Okay, okay, sparring."

"Thank you," Serenity murmured as she flowed into the rhythm they had started whenever they sparred during training.

"It seems like you need it. Sensei didn't seem happy and you weren't exactly serene either."

"Very funny," she scowled as she punched him just to have her wrist caught and he tugged her towards him. "I yield," she muttered as he got behind her with that advantage and twisted her arm. "Anything you want so you let me work off some frustration?"

"There are other ways to do that," he attempted to waggle his eyebrows but this only caused the female marine to flush slightly before nudging him in the side with her elbow.

"Pervert," she said in an accusing voice but the lanky man did catch her body language and smirked even more. It had been one of the things that they were drilled on was to observe the subtle and not so subtle reactions. While in lessons or training, the female marine kept herself composed relatively well but it seemed anytime Borsalino was alone with her…

"Let's spend some time together," he suggested before realizing how awkward it sounded.

"It sounds like you're asking me out," she said skeptically. "And no thank you. I have plans all weekend."

"All weekend?" Not knowing this much about his teammate and comrade started to bug jovial man. "Squeeze in a little time for me?"

"World doesn't revolve around you," Serenity said dismissively before closing her eyes. "I'll see you Monday," she said as she turned away from him to head towards her room.

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"Devil fruits were acquired?" Serenity hummed with interest as she looked over the newspaper. The main article was highlighting a ship belonging to Kaido, a rather infamous pirate, being full of cursed fruits. The marines were able to secure the cargo and was making a rather big fuss about it. What better way apparently to celebrate than to motivate with a tournament seemed to be their solution. "You two probably are going to try to qualify, right?"

"Be stupid not to," Sakazuki muttered as he wrote on the paper which fruit he would try for. "The amount of power is crazy. And look at some of these fruits. Having any of those would ensure that you're noticed."

"Some of them look a bit silly though," Borsalino admitted before tossing his paper to the side. "But I'll get one anyway." He noticed Serenity stare down at the paper intently but with disappointment. "You, Sere-chan?"

Sakazuki noted the lack of protest on the nickname and smirked when he saw her unintentionally soften her voice to speak to his friend. "They don't interest me. At least the ones found. Maybe the right fruit will find me. Not really opposed to eating one though. Nor do the stories of how bitter they taste thrill me either."

"Just can't believe that the military brass is planning a ball to celebrate busting a pirate crew out their cache of devil fruit. I suppose it is an occasion but a ball?" Sakazuki scowled with distaste at the frivolous social event. "There have to be better ways to celebrate.

"It's as much political as military power represented by the fruits, remember?" Serenity clarified. "I'm not so much worried about that. We do have our first excursion on a boat soon and that's my first priority."

"Ah yes. The great Sere-chan isn't one for the feminine thrills of dresses, dances, or ribbons," Borsalino teased but did not realize how her eyes narrowed as she balled up the paper and threw at it him before storming off. "What the hell did I do?" he whined to Sakazuki who only shook his head.

"Open your mouth." He finally put down his paper and looked at his friend. "It's obvious she's uncomfortable with it. There are recruits asking her out that have never spoken to her. You should have heard her reaction yesterday."

"Is that what prompted the, 'they act like I just grew a pair of breasts yesterday' talk when the ball was announced?" Borsalino asked. "I was wondering what caused that exceedingly awkward to listen to rant."

"That'd be it. Anyway, it seems this tournament will likely involve the two of us. Think you're ready?"

"Hell yes. You know I can't pass up any opportunity to whoop your ass."

Sakazuki raised a thin brow at the statement. "I'm stronger."

"I'm faster."

"I'm more strategic."

"I'm more moral."

_The fuck do morals have to do with a one vs. one fight? _Both of them got into a staring contest until Sakazuki sighed, causing his friend to cheer with victory. "If Serenity competes, that throws us for a loop."

"Doesn't look like she cares though. She's more concerned about the upcoming practical than the tournament or the ball."

Sakazuki grabbed the paper that had been bunched up and unraveled it before humming in curiosity. "What does she have against the Kaido pirates?" He pointed to a single dark line in the article referring to the devil fruit cache.

"Sounds like Kaito," Borsalino remembered from when Serenity's former friend had blurted out the name in a rage.

"Who the fuck is Kaito and why would this have anything to do with the infamous Kaido?"

"That's what I want to know," Borsalino scowled. "She won't open up about anything. At all. I'd offered to share information and she says she's willing to listen but she doesn't want to give." He then had a thoughtful look. "She can't be on her monthlies… she's like this too damn often and…"

"Too much information," Sakazuki growled. "Just either fucking ask her or shut up."

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"Saw you two signed up for the devil fruit tournament," Serenity mused as she looked at the latest posting. "It's a good opportunity for lower ranking marines to get their try but there are a couple captains trying here. Think you two still got a shot?"

Sakazuki crossed his arms in annoyance that she would dare doubt his skill while Borsalino puffed out his chest and laughed. "Look who you're talking to, Sere-chan. Do you really have no confidence in us?"

"Don't have to. You have enough for the both of you and a whole armada to spare," Serenity shot back with a smirk. "You two better do well. I'd be embarrassed otherwise."

"You'll try when there's a fruit you want?" Sakazuki asked just to receive a shrug. "Thought you'd be more interested in the fruits just due to their nature and how rare they are."

"Looking at the overall picture here, we'll be spending a ton of time near water. Maybe it won't be for the best unless I find a fruit that I really like. After all, someone has to save the two of you from drowning in your ego or sea water right?"

Sakazuki raised his eyebrow in slight annoyance before his friend voiced something that they both wanted. "You'll at least watch us right?"

Serenity frowned and crossed her arms. "Why wouldn't I watch the two of you?" Sakazuki looked relieved while Borsalino grinned happily. "We are comrades, aren't we?"

"See! I know you'd end up caring after all," Borsalino slung his arm around the female, causing her to huff but both men saw the slight pink tint on her cheeks that only happened when the lanky man invaded her personal space. "Maybe if I win, you'd give me a prize?"

"I have no devil fruits," she replied but the waggling eyebrows pointed towards a different victory Borsalino had in mind.

"Then answer a question for me," Borsalino demanded, causing Serenity to become cautious.

_What could be so important?_ "What question?" she inquired, now completely on guard as she noticed even Sakazuki become tense.

"Kaito… that name sounds an awful lot like Kaido doesn't it? Is there a connection?"

"You asked two questions so I'll answer the first. Yes the names sound alike," she responded coldly, any warmth evaporating. "I have plans for the weekend. Train well you two."

"Plans again? I thought you were free," Borsalino protested but Serenity instead used a skill that they had started to learn: Soru. With that, she was gone and that caused the lanky man to sigh. "She's not going to the graveyard so what the hell happens on her weekends?"

"You had a perfect chance to weasel a question out of her and you wasted it with a rhetorical question," Sakazuki shook his head. "She's better at strategy and logic than you are but every person has their weakness. Even her."

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

Serenity made a notation in the book resting in her lap with a smirk before glancing towards the other recruits with a borderline cruel smirk. "Never thought I'd make a profit at the tournament and all without lifting a finger."

"Gambling?" she heard a strict voice sound behind her followed by the bleat of a goat.

"Proceeds to the Sabaody orphanage sir," Serenity reported before showing the admiral the endorsed letter from the fleet admiral himself. The letter caused the afroed marine to frown slightly but he had no choice to allow it, especially with the fleet admiral's signature showing approval.

"Are you betting solely on your comrades? A bit unfair since out of the recruits, you three are the top marine recruits," Sengoku pointed out with a stroke to his chin but Serenity then held up her book for the mythical zoan to read. The amount of detail in it and the bets listed caused his eyes to bulge slightly.

"There are other things to bet on rather than just wins or losses," the female recruit pointed out glumly.

_How many strikes? Kicks or punches as the primary means to attack? Time taken?_ Sengoku adjusted his glasses before realizing how observant and dangerously tactical this recruit was. _Garp, what did you bring to the marines?_ "Your book," he offered Serenity's notes back to her and she nodded her thanks but noticed he hesitated when she touched his hand slightly during the action.

"You dislike me," she said astutely. The calm and certain tone almost made Sengoku flinch. "It's alright, sensei. I'm used to it."

"I don't dislike you but your behavior worries me." Serenity let almost an undignified snort leave her before he continued. "You demonstrate great ability and the interest to do great things for the community but your methods are brutal and will take a toll on your sanity."

Serenity gave a harsh bark of laughter which was timed just as Sakazuki had disabled an opponent with a couple of jabs to the ribs. "Didn't realize I had that left, sensei. Thank you for your keen observations."

"Tell me then. How many young women or men for that instance have their first bounty be their first love?" Serenity flushed darkly in anger and displeasure as she had seen Borsalino approach her before freezing up at hearing those words.

_Did I just hear that correctly?_ Borsalino noticed Serenity turn away from Sengoku rudely but considering the words, he was not sure whether to be concerned at their content or his comrade's behavior. "Sere-chan?"

"Go back to the tournament," she rebuked but she did not push him away when he approached her nor did she say anything about the subtle nod Sengoku gave the lanky recruit before stepping away. "It'd be a shame if you were disqualified for not being in attendance."

"That's why I was looking for you. Sakazuki and I are facing each other in the finals. We both want you there. It's only right," Borsalino muttered. "Please?"

"I'm not in a good frame of mind right now, Borsalino-kun. Please. Let me be. Please," Serenity said with her voice gradually going softer and softer as if it was being squeezed with a vice. "I need to leave before I…"

"It's about what sensei said, isn't it?" She stayed quiet at the words, neither confirming nor denying. "It doesn't matter to me and you know Sakazuki won't care."

"It only proves how depraved we are then. Borsalino-kun, you have no idea what you're saying. Please. While ignorance is bliss, don't toss that away so quickly without regard of what you'll find out."

"You talk too much," he muttered before touching her cheek gently with his hand, startling her out of the depressed stupor she had tossed herself within. "Now, I expect to collect a victory kiss but it's only worth it if you're there cheering me on."

"I'd rather cheer on Sakazuki right now. He won't get a big head out of this," Serenity retorted with a half smile as she felt Borsalino trace her lips with his fingertips, as if in deep thought. "Although I might give _a_ victory kiss is one of you wins."

"And I'll be collecting. Let's go. My fight is about to start," the thin man crowed happily…

Until the fight ended up in a tie.

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

"They really are delaying on giving you your fruit, Sakazuki-kun?" Serenity murmured with a frown. "That's bullshit to be honest."

The bulky man's jaw was set in displeasure as he shrugged his shoulders. "Used to it. I'll get it eventually if I have to wade through a river of blood."

"Am I navigating on this trek then?" Serenity chuckled but this only caused their comrade to shake his head at the two.

"You two scare me sometimes," Borsalino whined. "And it was shaping up to be a good, uneventful day. I mean look where we are about to set onto! Our first trek really away from headquarters for a spell and you two have to be morbid as all hell."

"It was a joke," both of them muttered at the same time before Serenity started to laugh and Sakazuki chuckled darkly, only making Borsalino sweatdrop.

"Come on. The captain won't be patient like our sensei, right?" Borsalino muttered in an attempt to compose himself from his friends' odd behavior. _I swear the two of them do this to me on purpose. _"Especially since you creamed him in the tournament, Sakazuki."

"Maybe if he spent more time actually going through his katas properly, he would have known the forms of the techniques he was using," the bulky man sniffed despite the vicious grin he now wore. "It won't be a complete waste of time. I can think of this as practice for my devil fruit."

"I still am keeping my promise, Sakazuki," Borsalino assured his friend with a smile that actually made the grin Sakazuki wore become a bit warm. Even Serenity could not help the peace she felt at the simple words.

After all, it was not every day that a friend held off on eating the devil fruit he won fair and square just because of their friend being delayed due to questionable morals. "At this rate though, I'll have a fruit too," Serenity commented lightly before giving a reassuring squeeze to Sakazuki's shoulder.

"Then we could eat it together?" Borsalino suggested before Sakazuki snorted.

"I'm not that patient. Once I get mine, all bets are off," the grumpy recruit informed his friends but he received chuckles in response. "Here comes the captain now."

"Get to work, you three. Just because Admiral Zephyr believes in your potential doesn't mean you can slack off," the marine captain scolded with a sneer before turning away.

Serenity shook her head before glancing at her comrades… no, her friends. "That means back into the kitchen for me. That sexist pig didn't even ask if I could cook before shoving me there."

"But you do cook decently well," Borsalino told her, causing the retreating female to half heartedly flip him the bird before descending into the kitchen. "We're growing on her, Sakazuki, I can tell."

"Yes. She can actually tolerate your presence but I wonder how you cause her to blush lately. And it's only you. Haven't you noticed?"

Borsalino blinked before grinning widely. "Really?" Before he could preen due to the news, he tensed slightly. "Sakazuki, tell me you feel that?"

He gave a terse nod before gesturing to the sea ahead of them. "I didn't want to say anything earlier. I had assumed that's why the captain was up here but it's obvious he doesn't know about it." He motioned towards the marine captain yelling at some of the other recruits. "Look. Instead of tearing down his crew, he should be preparing them and rousing them towards battle."

"We'll be better marines than him, Sakazuki." The bulky marine gave a tense nod as he headed towards the crow's nest while Borsalino sighed and stared down the pirate ship that he knew was there. "I hate just standing here, waiting for shit to happen."

"I agree." Turning around, he saw Serenity looked a bit more annoyed than she had been moments ago. "I told them down below deck to prepare for a fight. Gut feeling, that it is. Sakazuki felt it too?"

"Of course. He does have pretty powerful instincts. Like a damn animal sometimes I swear," Borsalino chuckled before motioning towards the crow's nest where his best friend was now gripping the edges and staring towards where they knew the hostiles to be. "The captain isn't going to be happy we're skipping out on duties."

"Marines aren't just to sail a ship. We repel and destroy pirates," Serenity retorted with fury so swiftly that Borsalino even raised an eyebrow at how vehement her response was. "If he pulled the ship's mast out of his ass, he'd realize we're potentially in danger."

"Potentially? A pirate crew putting the three of us on edge, an inept captain and other green recruits are here. This is more than potential danger." Borsalino shivered at the fact he felt almost worried about the situation. "As fun as this could be, it's not safe."

"Fun has nothing to do with the situation. With our captain's utter ignorance, we're on a collision course. Anyone paying half a brain's worth of attention in our navigation course could tell that. I will tell you one thing, Borsalino-kun. None of those pirates will walk out of an encounter with our ship alive."

"Serenity-chan…" Borsalino began slowly but she stiffened. "I don't like pirates either but this… You need to talk about this or it'll consume you whole."

"And what is this, you're speaking of?" She angrily went back down below deck before casting him an angry look. "My family is dead because of pirates. My hopes dashed because of pirates. I will stop at nothing, Borsalino-kun. Nothing." She was intercepted however by the captain who whispered a few words into her ears. She quickly nodded and a cruel smirk graced her face. "It seems I shall see action before you two."

Watching her eagerly walk towards where the ship's weapons were held, Borsalino scowled at the captain. "Why would you tell her to lead a team towards those pirates? We shouldn't even engage them at our skill level!" His eyes were narrow as he observed the shifty behavior of his superior officer. "Why are you sending them to their deaths on a simple scouting expedition?"

"So we can get away," the captain muttered simply, causing Borsalino to do something truly impulsive: literally jab his captain in the stomach. "I'll have you written up for insubordination," the man hissed but Borsalino did not care.

"One of my friends might die. Fuck being insubordinate. You played on the fact that she _hates_ pirates just to push her to go, aren't you?"

"So what if I did? We get to live and that cold bastard who couldn't even pull his punches loses a friend too. Sounds like a win to me," he sneered before he motioned towards the little ship heading towards the pirate ship. "And it's too late unless you can walk on water."

_Shit!_ Part of him drifted towards the devil fruit he was given, sitting innocently in his jacket's pockets but he frowned. _There's no way to know if it would even help me get her and those fools back. And if I miss and fall in the water, I'm fucked._ "When the others find out…"

"And who will they believe? Me or the cocky bastard who'd rather flirt with the female recruits?"

"I haven't flirted with anyone lately," Borsalino growled before storming off to find Sakazuki. He did not have to go far as the bulky man jumped down from the mast to land onto the deck.

"I heard what he said. Now, what do we do about it?" Sakazuki motioned towards the captain quickly. "The rest of the small ships are too secure for us to use quickly and it would be disgraceful to go against a superior office."

"It's a good thing I don't care about my reputation," Borsalino smirked as he noticed his friend nod approvingly. "And a good thing for you as well." He paused as he glanced at the small ship and his eyes widened. "Fuck. The pirate ship fired on it."

* * *

-Meanwhile-

* * *

"Holy hell, I'm dying," Elyse shrieked as she flailed in the water.

"Compose yourself," Serenity muttered darkly as she floated in the water next to her flailing fellow recruit. The other recruits kept their cool and floated alongside the females. "Now our boat is sunk and our captain obviously has no intentions of retrieving us."

"What?" Elyse shouted again, causing the rest of the sunken recruits to regard her with annoyance. "But I slept with him and everything right before the mission!"

"How do you deal with her, Serenity-san?" one of the recruits named Taka asked as he looked down at the panicking female with disdain.

"By not being around her," Serenity responded as she nodded towards the kind but annoyed male. "Now, let's figure out what we can do. We can either float in this dangerous sea and wait to die of exhaustion or a creature eating us or we can attempt to board that pirate vessel."

"Why the fuck would we board the ship that fired on us?" one of the other recruits argued before lowering his voice slightly as if in apology. "No offense made but really…"

"We take over their ship," Serenity said simply. The matter of fact way she responded made even Elyse stop squirming. "Kill those pirates, get our shitty captain written up for abandoning fellow marines and go home."

"Don't want to rain on your parade, Ty-chan, but the pirates are about to…" she fell silent as a strong, Seastone net fell over both of them. "Yup, we're captured." She then cast a glare towards Serenity. "You could have acted, you know."

"They saved us the trouble of getting onto the ship," she replied dismissively. "Now we have about two minutes before we are fully on the ship and thankfully, none of us are fruit users. Anyone have a plan or are we going to do what I had in mind?"

"All ears," Taka grinned and everyone nodded, Elyse last of course but she still nodded.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

* * *

"They fucking got fired on and caught and you still won't budge?" Sakazuki roared at the captain, spittle flying from his mouth. "That's it. I'm getting the Den Den Mushi."

"You're an orphan with no connections that the senseis barely tolerate," the captain said stubbornly until he noticed Borsalino holding up the ship's snail.

"But I have connections, _all_ of our senseis love me, and I'm someone that definitely will be missed if I mysteriously vanish. For goodness sakes, grow a pair and allow us to rescue our comrades," Borsalino sneered as he watched the captain sigh in defeat.

"I suppose we have no…"

What no one anticipated was the pirate ship's cannon going off with not a traditional cannonball but one filled with shrapnel exploding onto the marine ship. Every other recruit had given the captain a thankfully wide berth and this ended up saving their lives as the explosive ball shattered right next to where he was. Sakazuki and Borsalino jumped back thankfully in time as the captain took the brunt of the hit and just stood there for a moment, the shards of charred metal piercing his skin before he fell over, dead from shock rather than his own injuries. "Disgusting," Sakazuki sighed before glancing at the pirate ship. "Let's go save our comrades before we lose anyone else. From the way the ship looks, if we attempt to flee, they will be able to fire on us still and catch up nonetheless so we have no choice but to fight."

"Let's go everyone. Kick some pirate ass and rescue our friends," Borsalino attempted to rouse the other marine recruits and thankfully between the two of them, the ship was completely calm with raging but controlled fury as it was steered towards the pirating vessel.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

* * *

"Fools," the pirate captain muttered as he watched the marine vessel approach them after the warning shot. "Why would you approach a pirate ship, head on?"

"Why would they flee from a faster ship that also has cannons?" Serenity fired back with a sneer. She looked at ease despite being tied to the ship's mast in a rather provocative manner, the ropes highlighting her feminine features. _They don't look happy on the net but I'd rather the pirates take out their frustrations on a person who can handle it rather than cave in under pressure. _"So why fire on a marine vessel after all? We don't have anything of use."

"Indeed, a mouthy female like yourself has _almost_ no use," the captain smirked as he stood in front of Serenity, causing her lip to curl in distaste. He was rather husky but not in a muscular manner and his stomach hung but not due to muscle tone but rather from an excess of drinking and caught on his beard were a few particles of the meat he was eating. "But I suppose I can make do with you. The other one in the net isn't my time. You see, I prefer to break my women in and she doesn't look any fun at all. Without any fight in them, it's like taking a cold fish to bed."

"I pity the fish," Serenity replied coldly as she tensed her muscles slightly to get a feel of the rope before she cursed mentally. _Shit, the ropes seem to have slight Seastone woven in. Even if I'm not a fruit user, it still makes it much stronger than regular rope. _"And I think I'd rather die than lay with a pirate."

"I don't know sweetheart," the man chuckled as he stroked her face, causing Serenity's eyes to narrow dangerously but he merely laughed more and caressed her more. He chose to ignore Elyse's gagging sounds in the background. "It's hard to deny the charms of a pirate."

"I didn't quite find it to my taste," Serenity fired back as she lifted up her nose. This triggered gasps from many of the marine recruits but surprisingly Elyse sighed in light of the _news_. "I have the stench of death around me enough apparently. Don't need another damn pirate adding to it."

"I was right… you do have a certain darkness about you. It's a bit alluring on a marine I must admit," the pirate chuckled. "Do you want to know the name of your new master?"

"No thanks," Serenity responded almost cheerfully. "I would rather have the flesh shorn off my bone than ever allow you to be any master of mine.

"Bitch," the pirate hissed and he attempted to backhand the bound marine but she bit hit hand just as it was about to strike her face. "Filthy whore!" he proclaimed as he finally pulled back his hand.

"Sleeping with only one man that I never charged wouldn't make me a whore," Serenity mocked as she spat something towards the pirate. After it touched his face did he realize it was a bit of the skin she had bit off his hand.

"Let those marines come," the pirate captain intoned darkly. "So they can see what happens when a pirate is truly in his element." He then grabbed Serenity's chin and made her look at him. "I'll break you into pieces right in front of them and you won't be able to do a damn thing to stop me."


	5. Current: Awakening

Thanks to Kamikashi for your review ^_^ Too kind!

I hope everyone enjoys and feel free to leave feedback. I love reading and seeing that others enjoy :D

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Current: Awakening**

_"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." – Lao Tzu_

* * *

Serenity's eyes burst open as she remembered the intense pain she felt upon her back but as she sat up in a soft bed, she blinked around in confusion. _The hell?_ She felt the room sway softly, telling signs that she was on a boat, before leaning back into the covers just to think. "This is different," she muttered as she felt the thin but comfortable blanket for a few moments, just enjoying the scent slightly. Her eyes almost closed when she heard the door burst open.

"I thought you were awake," she heard the jovial voice of Kizaru before he sat on the bed next to her still sluggish form. "You recovered unusually fast…"

"It's part of the thing with my fruit. It's why I was forced to eat it in the first place," she informed glumly as she looked at her hands. She allowed feathers to dance across her body before retracting them into her body. "I can heal myself slightly faster and others to a small extent but it does come at a steep price."

"Forced to eat a fruit?" This the logia was unable to understand. "How? Some fruit that allows such mobility and power should be thought of as a blessing."

"Borsalino-kun, you aren't understanding. I never wanted to eat it. Never." She touched her head gingerly and winced as she sat up. "I wanted to be a help to you. All the ability in the world means nothing if you're in water or cuffed and therefore, I knew that the minute I was forced to eat this fruit, that my usefulness was now limited."

"Sere-chan, I don't care about uses you think you have to me. You know that. You're my woman, damn it just as I'm your man." He reached out for her face, almost wincing when he saw the raw emotion in her eyes. "You're rather intense right now. I think the last time I saw you so riled up was when…"

"You got back from that training mission with Sakazuki, both of you smoking like chimneys and me finding out that the smell of the smoke makes me sneeze?" Serenity recalled with a tense smile as she took a quick sniff of the air around them. "There still is a slight smell of cigarettes but at least it's not that bad. It still reminds me of you. This whole room."

"Well of course. You're in my cabin after all. Where else would I have the woman I love?" he spoke as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Things aren't _that_ different."

"I suppose some things were never meant to change," she murmured quietly as she reached out to touch his chest. His heart fluttered slightly under her touch as if in anticipation. Even his eyes lit up behind his tinted sunglasses. "I never want to lose you again. And I won't have to." Her right hand glowed as she removed her hand from Borsalino's chest to put it above her own. In fact, exactly above her heart. "You are what grounds me, Borsalino-kun and with your permission, I'd like to never be unaware of where you are."

"I thought of you as the thing that brings me down to earth," the light logia responded in confusion. "And I'd like you to be able to find me at anytime you need to but how? If not by Observation Haki…"

"This," Serenity murmured as she felt the itching sensation that signified when she was shifting partially with the use of her devil fruit. Her skin seemed to become fluffy slightly with feathery down. A bright beam of light seemed to pour from her chest as she focused her energy and eventually, it solidified into a feather. It was ink black and seemed almost like a writing quill. "It feels weird but I don't know how to describe it. I've only done this to one other person before."

"Done what?" Borsalino asked but he felt the tip of the feather touch his chest and shred part of his shirt as it touched his skin. The soft parts of the feather, the vane, fell apart from the hollow shaft and twirled around the point. "Serenity-chan?!"

"Please Borsalino-kun, have faith in me," she said as she focused carefully. "This is most difficult when I'm not using all of my devil fruit power."

"Why don't you…?" he began but it felt a slight stabbing sensation as the quill poked his skin slightly and the scattered remains of feather rearranged themselves onto his skin before pressing into it, like a tattoo. The shaft shattered suddenly but the markings were left behind. It looked like miniature feathers that were grouped together to form a number.

"Angel within Me: Tracking Quill," she intoned calmly, causing the markings to seemingly burn bright before darkening once again onto the logia's skin. She felt sweat bead her forehead as she observed them before touching his skin carefully. Borsalino's chest was reddened slightly due to the feather being imprinted onto his skin as the sensation was similar to that of getting a tattoo. He gasped at the sensation of her touching the mark. It felt almost like a spark between the two. "Borsalino-kun?" she said quietly as she was worried about how strong his reaction was.

"Sere-chan… The fuck was that?" he said as he touched the mark gingerly, frowning slightly when it felt like to him as if he was just touching his skin normally. Serenity shivered slightly however as he rubbed at the skin, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "It felt weird when you did whatever the hell that was but now, I feel like normal."

"I've forged a connection between us that I can use to track you down. It utilizes one of my feathers that I imbue with my own energy," Serenity explained as she touched the spot on her chest above her heart. Tugging down her top slightly, Borsalino's eyes widened as he saw the same symbol made onto his chest on her own. "As you've figured out, you're the second person I had done this with but I put a great deal more energy into this one as I want the connection stronger and more stable."

"Who else did you put this on?" Borsalino asked cautiously, not sure if he really wanted to know. "You said you made this connection the stronger one but you still have a connection to someone apparently."

"How else to kill Marco the Phoenix than to track him down and take him out myself?" Serenity replied calmly as she buttoned up her top to cover the markings on her chest. "The mark I gave him is on my left ankle." She lifted her leg up and sure enough, there was a feather like bunch resembling the number one. "No one else is allowed to extinguish that pirate but me."

"From how you told me about this, this tracking technique meant something special to you but you tested it on a pirate?" Borsalino asked skeptically as he found a new shirt to replace his ripped one. "To think you'd tolerate being in the presence of a pirate…"

"I was captured by his crew," Serenity hissed in distaste as her eyes darkened dangerously. Borsalino was used to her mood changing for the worse whenever piracy was mentioned but even this was a lot different than before. The change was so swift and consuming it almost frightened him. "Marco was the closest thing I had to a friend or a confidant the whole time I was in captivity. That is why when we face each other, I will fight him with everything I have and give as swift and painless as a death as possible. I owe him that."

_You worry me even more than you did back then, Sere-chan._


	6. Past: Release

A thanks to Kamikashi for your review ^_^ Serenity does have a bit of darkness about her but it will take time for all to be revealed! Meanwhile, I shall let everyone enjoy!

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Past: Release**

_"I don't give a damn about anything around me, I am me and that's all there is to it." – Bad Apple_

* * *

Sakazuki was the first marine off of the ship to embark onto the pirate ship and he almost faltered at the sight before him. Seeing Serenity tied to the mast covered in her own blood was concerning enough, especially at the faces of her fellow captives but she merely was smiling through it despite yet another fist being aimed towards her. There were various rips in her marine issued shirt and pants as well, stained with blood. "Why won't you just fucking give in?" the pirate captain roared but she merely tilted her head slightly, causing the fist to glance the side of her head but Sakazuki noticed that even there, she had blood in her hair, tinting the blonde strands.

"Why is she smiling?" Borsalino croaked as he jumped to Sakazuki's side. He noticed that she had spotted them through a quick glance of her eye but she merely giggled in an effort to enrage the pirate captain more.

"Is this the best you can do?" she asked as she tilted her head to the other side. "I was under the impression I was getting threatened and that you would break me. All that you've done is break some of my skin and that can be healed. The blood can be washed off and replaced. Everything is fine."

"Crazy," Elyse muttered under her breath quietly, causing the other captive marines to glare at her. Sakazuki was inclined to agree as well but he kept quiet as he noticed Borsalino's fist tighten.

"So you're here to rescue this mad woman?" the pirate captain turned away from the mast and Serenity to face all of the marines that were prepared to rescue their comrades. "Tell you what. Despite this, I'm intrigued. Allow me to keep her and I'll let these other runts go free. They don't interest me."

"Keep me here and you'll die the minute the ropes come off, I promise you," Serenity smirked but the effect of her split lip bleeding made the expression seem a bit off. "But I do prefer that scenario."

"That doesn't mean we want that, Serenity-san!" one of the captured recruits shouted in anger before turning to address Borsalino. "You fight with her a lot in training but we all know she listens to you and Sakazuki-san. She's been insulting and pissing that pirate off to stop him from going after us. He struck her so many times. Please, we need to get her out of here and to seek medical attention. The knife he used to cut her skin on her arms and legs didn't look clean either. If she's protecting us, it's not fair if she ends up worse for wear."

"It isn't fair at all," Elyse spoke up strongly for her former friend. To her surprise, the other marines had no problem agreeing with her. "She protected us when we couldn't protect ourselves."

Borsalino shrugged his shoulders in understanding before glancing at his friend. "Just like old times?" he asked as he rolled his shoulders then to prepare himself.

"More at stake I'd like to think," his bulky friend replied as he eyed the pirates about to surround them. Turning to the other recruits, he spoke authoritatively. "I know you're not obliged to follow our lead since we're all recruits and therefore of equal standing but I beseech you. Priority is rescuing our captured comrades and getting off this ship."

"We already lost more than we should have," Borsalino mentioned quietly. Despite being irritated beyond reason with the marine captain, he still did not deserve to die. He noticed the grim satisfaction in Sakazuki's eyes when it happened but he felt guilt especially upon knowing that the captain was going to cave eventually to his subordinates' wishes. "Let's get through this and return home."

"So I did hit someone after all with that shrapnel cannon ball? Good! Damn thing cost a pretty beri." The pirate captain smirked before reaching towards Serenity, running his grubby hands through her bloodied hair before gripping on her strands and forcing her to look at her friends directly. "This is only the beginning of what's going to happen to all of you."

Despite the pain of both her scalp being forced where it did not want to go and the cuts on her skin rubbing against the ropes, Serenity gave a forced smile. "You don't have enough masts to tie us all up."

"Bloody smart ass," he roared as he gripped her hair tighter, forcing her to wince at the sudden pain. He then turned towards his pirate crew. "What the fuck are you all waiting around? Get them! They're just green recruits!"

"Those who feel comfortable, follow our lead. The rest, rescue our fellow marines," Borsalino ordered and he almost fell over at seeing their comrades nod in acknowledgement. "Sakazuki. Let's go."

"With pleasure," he roared as he barreled through the first group, literally spearheading the first attack. The minute his fist cracked into the side of a pirate, he felt his speedy friend in action, covering him by kicking away someone attempting to take advantage of a gap in his defense that he intentionally allowed.

"I'm jealous," Serenity murmured despite the throbbing pain she felt in her head and the dizzying sensation behind her eyes. She knew the blood loss was dangerous and if what Taka implied that she could get infected from the poorly taken care of knife the pirate wielded, she was concerned about herself but how could she care about her life when everyone else's was also at stake? "Look how well they cover each other's weak point. That takes teamwork and an understanding beyond my imagination."

"You want them to cover you, don't you?" the pirate hissed before a twisted smirk took over his features. The way she was bound to the mast with the ropes only made him more determined. "What if I cover you?"

"That is preposterous," Serenity began until she realized he was literally pressing himself against her. She tensed immediately as his voice whispered softly into her ear.

"I don't know about that. I could get used to this real easily. Blood or not, you are very striking," he cooed before cradling her face in his hands and pressing his body against hers even more firmly against hers to the point she could tell he was being _affected_.

Revulsion surged through her body and she could not restrain the scream of rage that erupted from her at his touch. "Get fucking away from me!"

Sakazuki had just knocked out a few more pirates when he caught Borsalino's eye as they both glanced towards their comrade. Squaring her legs, she had thrashed around and managed to rip the mast off of the ship before falling over, still attached to the mast, onto the deck. The pirate captain's jaw dropped at the feat of strength while Borsalino turned slightly towards some of the recruits still on the ship. "Hurry back to our ship now."

"This definitely isn't going to be pretty," Sakazuki agreed as he noticed Serenity's body shake its way out of the ropes that _used_ to bind her to the mast. "Should we intervene?"

Borsalino frowned at his friend and scowled. He wanted to see Serenity fight all out but he knew at the same time, she likely was tired and worn out from the abuse the pirate captain had heaped upon her in the time that she had been captured. What was the final deciding factor was the broken, disjointed chuckling from her as she finally freed herself. "We need to now."

"Stay out of this," the pirate captain roared at the marine pair but he did not expect to get tackled from behind by a very vengeful Serenity. "Gah! Get off!"

"Make me," she muttered darkly before snapping his neck and standing up weakly before she swayed due to weakness and blood loss. Sakazuki and Borsalino were at her side to quickly steady her balance. "I missed you two."

"You need cleaned up," Borsalino murmured as Serenity's eyelids shut out of sheer exhaustion. "Just rest up. I'll take care of you."

"Don't peek at me… too much," she yawned as she allowed fatigue to claim her finally.

"I don't get her sometimes," the lanky recruit sighed before turning to his friend. "Sakazuki, what should we do?"

"Well all the pirates are dead," he noted the bodies around. "It was literally kill or be killed in this case. But she did it a bit more brutally than the others, even if it was just one. In any case, I'll look through the ship and then call in the report."

"Fine by me," Borsalino nodded as he held Serenity close to him before leaping back to their ship. He passed by several of the recruits who were looking at him expectantly. "Sakazuki is searching through the ship so be on standby. Also Elyse-chan, fetch some of Serenity's clothing. What she's wearing now isn't appropriate anymore." That certainly was true as the parts of cloth still hanging onto her were bloodied or stuck to her body due to said blood. Humming to himself, Borsalino brought her to the captain's bathroom and started the shower before grabbing a sponge. "I'll be as gentle as I can," he said softly to his friend but she did not stir. _Damn. This is something I never expected. _As he set her into the tub of the shower, he turned to get some bandages before cursing and trying to think how to remove her stuck clothing without damaging her. _I'll figure something out but why do you look so peaceful?_

* * *

-Meanwhile-

* * *

Sakazuki sighed as he finished looking through the pirate vessel. Literally every pirate that was onboard had apparently thrown themselves into the fight just to be eliminated. Although the ship inherently was not bad in terms of seaworthiness, it was too much of a risk at all to steer a former pirate vessel back to Marineford. _No information about this ship either or anything important. Nothing to bring back to headquarters at all. Fuck. Well, might as well make that report._ Pulling the Den Den Mushi out that they had threatened the marine captain with, he sighed as he heard the connection. "Marine Recruit Sakazuki reporting in about the naval scouting mission we had been assigned."

A gruff cough made the bulky man want to curse. This vice admiral never was a big fan of him. "Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp receiving the report. And why isn't Captain Tanaka Kunimitsu making this report?"

"He was killed while on duty sir by a shrapnel filled cannonball," Sakazuki reported grimly. "The death was almost immediate."

"No marine vessel in that area should have that kind of ammunition. I'll go ask Sengoku later," Garp grumbled as he scratched a note. "But tell me kid. Why was your ship engaging in any sort of action at all? It was just a standard training mission. Patrolling in fact."

"It's a long story so I'll start at the beginning."

* * *

-A Week Later-

* * *

Borsalino felt awkward as he noticed all the recruits bow to him randomly or give grins of acknowledgement. _I normally like attention but even this is much. I suppose that it is more tolerable than what Serenity has been going through._

Casting a glance at his slightly irate comrade walking along with him, he noticed her eyes softly slightly as she gave a smile. "What's on your mind, Borsalino-kun?"

"Just hoping they finally give Sakazuki his fruit," he commented as he still patted the pocket he had his fruit hidden in. "I mean, he did great during that incident," he began delicately before receiving a shrug.

"You don't have to walk around eggshells when I'm here. Nothing bad happened but at least you only pause for maybe a half second rather than just stare at me awkwardly," she commented as she was about to step into the women's lockers. "Meet you two up for lunch?"

"Sure," the jovial man nodded but he frowned the minute she turned around. _Something definitely happened whether you want to admit it or not. I can understand your anger and rage but how immediately violent it was…_ Turning away, he went to go change in the men's showers when he heard a couple of recruits gossiping.

"You're going to try to ask her for the ball?" one of them sputtered in disbelief. "Are you as insane as she is?"

"I think it'd be awesome. Show up with her on my arm. After all, that encounter is part of the reason the ball got delayed so they could attempt to find out how a pirate ship got so far into marine territory. Besides, Serenity looks great."

Borsalino frowned but he said nothing as he stepped into the spray of his shower. Unfortunately the water did not drown out the voices but only made it seem to echo. "There's something wrong with her mentally. There just has to be. Dude, you saw her when those two made us get to that ship. She was covered in her own blood and smiling."

"If Elyse-chan is able to see the fact she protected them, you can too," the recruit attempted to defend before sighing. "Besides, it's a date, not a lifetime commitment I want. Showing up with her would look good considering that she's practically the top of the recruits and…"

At this point, Borsalino loudly burst out of his shower to glare at his fellow recruits before quickly changing and dashing out. _I wonder if that's why her mood is so sour lately but…_

"You're oddly distracted," Sakazuki chuckled as he strode towards his friend. Borsalino whined as he saw that he was out of uniform. "Stopped by our room first. Took bloody forever but they are still holding the fruit. Apparently, they don't agree _completely_ with we handled the incident."

"We're a bunch of recruits with a recently killed captain and captured comrades. What else could we have done?" Borsalino sighed as he slumped onto a bench. "I really want them to stop holding your fruit back though. This is bullshit."

"I'm kind of used to it by now. I'll just have to do something they cannot deny," Sakazuki muttered darkly before glancing towards the women's shower building. "Serenity still getting ready?"

"Yes and some of the recruits were talking about her too," Borsalino scowled, causing his friend to raise his eyebrow. "It pisses me off what they were saying too."

"Some of our senseis were talking about her actually." Sakazuki was not surprised by how quickly his friend tensed. "I heard a bit of it before I had to ask about my fruit."

"What did you hear?" Borsalino asked quietly. "Because I can't stand hearing anymore crap."

"Well…"

* * *

-Flashback: An Hour Ago-

* * *

"You're still defending her actions?" Sengoku scowled at his friend but Garp kept his arms crossed rather resolutely.

"I scouted her myself after all. I knew what she was capable of when I brought her to become a marine," the vice admiral objected. "She is, what did you call it, useful."

"You're telling me she's allowing herself to become a weapon?" Sengoku sighed with frustration as he ran a hand through his afro. "From what I heard of her actions, it was rather unnerving."

"When I heard the report of one of Kaido's pirates being killed and turned in, I had investigated. Imagine my shock hearing that a young woman had turned in the bounty then turned around and donated _all_ of that money to an orphanage. Is it concerning that the pirate was scarily enough her lover? Yes of course it is. Her morals might be a bit skewed and she might be aggressive when it comes to even mentioning pirates but there is some good in there. She's allowing the marines to mold her."

"That's not good, Garp. There's no way you agree with it."

"And I don't either." Sengoku's head tilted in confusion until his friend elaborated. "You see, she told me something that made me determined to have her as a recruit. 'I would rather become a monster so these children don't have to be. They deserve support and family. I have lost both so I'll protect what I can so no child has to be the orphan of a pirate attack.' How can I argue with her determination?"

"So because she's already down what she perceives is a darker path, she allows this?" Garp nodded slowly in acknowledgement. "It's obvious you're allowing this but you are going to make sure she attends counseling every so often. Maybe some of the marine war therapy too. This isn't right to allow a human to become a weapon but she's putting herself through this with everything she has. Even I can tell. Despite the comments I make on her reports, she still won't be swayed completely. I'll keep an eye on her too. We have to make sure she stays humane after all."

* * *

-End Flashback-

* * *

"So this Kaito… was her lover and she killed him. He ended up being a pirate… Damn. This is a bit much to wrap around my head," Borsalino groaned after Sakazuki finished his tale. "I knew about the whole orphan thing but she never went into detail. Maybe she'll open up soon but I wasn't optimistic. Especially after what happened. How do you approach someone about it?"

"By simply asking like I've been fucking telling you all this time." Sakazuki ran his hand through his short hair in a huff. "Damn it, I'm tired of sitting here and seeing you two dance about this. Look, she does more than tolerates you like she lets on. And you. You obviously have a thing for her."

Borsalino blinked owlishly in disbelief. "Where'd this come from?"

"Look, I've been watching you two dance around each other for ages. The only thing coming up that could make you angry with other recruits talking about her must involve the ball as well. It was postponed the extra week to allow them to investigate but it was still looming on her mind. Ask her. Get your answers and help each other recover. Then maybe you two do whatever it is people do at balls." This confused the skinny marine.

"You're getting a bit fired up about this. Don't you need time to recover from this as well and while we're on the subject, you could ask her too you know."

"To the ball or the questions in general?" Sakazuki snickered before giving his friend a serious look. "I don't see her that way and it wouldn't work out. Seriously. I know I'm not exactly anyone's ideal choice of marine but she's another shade of darkness altogether." He then sighed slightly. "She's my friend in the end however. Also, even though I'm curious about asking her those questions, it's not to the point where I would prod her without her wanting to confide in me. She isn't as comfortable with me as with you."

"I think I will ask her then," Borsalino decided as he took a clearing breath. "What do I have to lose right? She could just laugh at me and tease me during training just like normal. Might as well I suppose."

Sakazuki nodded before pushing himself off the bench. "In that case, I'm going to go procure some sake."

"You're not coming to lunch with us?" Borsalino whined on the realization that without his friend there, all of Serenity's attention would be hovering around him while she was not eating.

"I'm not going to sit here and be a third wheel. Even I'm not that socially inept. Anyway, let me know if she said yes," Sakazuki waved as he walked off with a smirk on his face. _Maybe they'll finally get somewhere._

Sure enough, it was a few moments later before Serenity emerged from the women's showers with her hair still slightly damp but curling slightly around her face. Due to that, she had not placed them in pigtails yet. "Where's Sakazuki? It's unlike him to miss a planned lunch."

"Something came up so he'll make it up to us later," Borsalino replied but this made Serenity raise an eyebrow with suspicion.

"Okay…" _He isn't a fan of many other marines or is that social. Since he has no family either, that can't be it so why…?_ "So, what now?"

"I take you to lunch," Borsalino told her simply as he slung an arm around her shoulder. To his surprise, she did not sling it off. "If that's fine with you at least."

"I don't mind," she leaned into his arm slightly and let him steer her towards the part of headquarters with restaurants. "And at least you haven't changed in how you treat me."

"Am I supposed to?" he murmured in confusion. "I've gotten used to you and I hope the same. What would change that?"

"Ever since the ball was announced and now because of that damn incident, I get eyed like I'm a chess piece. I don't mind being put on the front lines in danger because I can help others. I can save at least one person. But to be used like a show horse? Fuck that. Just fuck that. Especially because apparently a good thing about me is that someone unstable like me isn't likely to last long enough to negatively impact someone's career. I actually got told that by some idiot who tried to ask me to the ball. How obnoxious. I hate putting up with this."

"If you go with someone, you have a better excuse to turn them down as well," Borsalino suggested, causing her to light up with curiosity. "And I wouldn't mind walking around with you. It wouldn't be much different from a normal day, should it?" He paused as he saw the gears in her head spin quickly. "We could even tease Sakazuki."

"You're the only one who really teases him," she chuckled before touching his shoulder, causing him to pause and smile at her. "But do you mean it? The ball that is. It sounded like you want to go with me."

"Depends if the lady in front of me would allow me to accompany her," he replied smoothly. Serenity's expression did not help him figure out if she was interested as she just blinked blankly for a few seconds before looking up at him.

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he responded as he touched some of her hair. "We're practically friends aren't we?" she frowned slightly at this. "See! You don't like that classification so we _are_ friends." This made the frown soften slightly. "Have I treated you any differently since the incident?"

"Not in the slightest," she said, unable to help the smile that emerged. "You haven't tried to coddle me at all but you seem to know how to help me. Not by treating me differently either. I didn't question the bag of bagels you got for the three of us after training or the way you've been glaring off some of the recruits. That I definitely didn't mind. Some of them wanted to ask me to the ball for political maneuvering or just to get noticed by the senseis for associating with me. But you… Damn it, Borsalino, you've been there for me." She twisted her hands and looked off to the side. "If it wouldn't put too much of a damper in your style, I'll go with you."

"You know something… I'm looking forward to this actually," Borsalino murmured as he held out his arm to his soon to be date. "Now then, lunch?"


	7. Current: Friendship

Always a thrill to see some follows ^_^ Everyone feel free to let me know what you think!  
Please be careful those of you lighting fireworks!

I do not own One Piece - **That is property of Eiichiro Oda**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Current: Friendship**

_"You made me feel alright for once in my life. Now all that's left of me is what I pretend to be. So together, but so broken up inside." – __Behind These Hazel Eyes __ - Kelly Clarkson_

* * *

Admiral Kizaru's crew knew better than to inquire about the quiet woman leaving his cabin, wearing the admiral's spare coat, but the temptation was difficult to resist due to the fact she wore that over a plain marine uniform. The woman in question sighed as she blew a lock of blonde hair out of her face before turning to the admiral. "How has headquarters changed?"

The logia put a comforting hand on his love's shoulder. "Last I heard, they are constructing an execution platform for Portgas D. Ace but other than that, it's much the same."

"Good," she murmured slightly as she leaned into his hold. "Too much change would be aggravating. I'm already at a severe enough disadvantage."

"How so?" he murmured as he ran his hand through her hair, feeling the silky strands slowly. "Your skills cannot have diminished that much. Also the fact you have become a devil fruit user only makes things more interesting."

"I have fewer connections now. The crew able to vouch for me in any way is dead. The marines likely have gotten more uptight with their standards. Someone like me won't fit in or be accepted anymore," Serenity argued as she shook her head. "I'll just be a burden or a relic of the past and that's the last thing I want."

The admiral could not help but throw his head back and laugh. The action was so exaggerated that he even placed his hands in front of his mouth in an attempt to contain it. Unfortunately, he was failing miserably. "You actually think someone like you is a burden?"

"Stop laughing," she snarled as she lunged forward in an attempt to kick at his side in irritation. A few of the marines on the ship protested loudly but they were waved down by the admiral who caught her leg easily. His good humor towards the situation made a few of the marines sigh but they returned to their posts, albeit unwillingly.

"Stand down. We won't kill each other or do that much damage to the ship," he said cheerily, causing Serenity to snort in amusement despite it all.

"_That much_? How we met again should prove that you haven't lost that tendency at all."

He released her leg and smiled happily at her, even lowering his sunglasses to look her directly in the eyes with a serious but calm expression. "If it allowed me to meet you again, I don't mind."

Serenity could not keep her annoyance at the admiral any further as she felt the warmth of the statement and allowed it to wash over her. "You're so romantic," she sighed as she slipped out of her fighting stance easily and approached him. He embraced her lovingly and then motioned over to the figurehead.

_They think property damage is romantic?_ Many of the marines shook their heads and were even more determined to keep their distance from the duo as their survival instincts overrode their natural curiosity.

"Why didn't you move on?" Serenity murmured quietly after they sat next to the figurehead for privacy. "I didn't want you to waste away dwelling on me. I don't deserve to have your worry and concern." She almost shivered noticing the tense rage that seemed to envelop the admiral. "I'm not a good person by any means but yet, you're still so happy to see me. How…? Why…?"

"What do you want me to do?" the admiral scowled almost angrily. "Fucks sake, Sere-chan. When you had me make that promise just to vanish right after, it felt planned. To go missing for that length of time however, I assumed you to have cut all ties with the marines… With me… But despite that paranoia, I never gave up looking for you. Would you have abandoned hope if I was in your situation?"

"I would never give up on you," she replied fiercely as she grabbed the front of his suit and pulled the surprised admiral to her with a kiss. His eyes widened momentarily but he relaxed quickly enough before she released him with a blush. "Please never doubt what I feel for you. That hurts a lot more than what happened over the years."

"We both were suffering in our own way," he said sagely but he could not help the grin that took over his face. Serenity never really enjoyed public displays of affection and to give him that kind of kiss certainly made him feel warm with the effort she was putting forth to prove herself. "We'll have to think of a way to explain what happened though. It was difficult enough explaining to Sentomaru after that fiasco…"

* * *

-Flashback-

* * *

It was a cursing light logia that was scooping up the unconscious woman that finally pulled Sentomaru's attention away from the Shichibukai that he was giving a rather fierce tongue lashing towards. "What the hell happened? She's just a civilian!"

Kizaru watched with curiosity as his subordinate was obviously familiar with Serenity or at least the version without her memory. "If you really knew her, you would know that she is a vice admiral who had been missing for twenty years. From what I've little I was able to gather, a majority of that was without her memory. While you know her, you don't know her at the same time."

The bulky man with the axe sighed as he watched the normally jovial admiral bark orders with a rare show of authority to the other marines. "I do… or at least did if what you say is correct. This won't be a pleasant discussion once I let you know the details…"

Nodding his understanding, they quickly made their way back to where the admiral had ordered his ship docked and quickly placed her within his cabin. Sentomaru noted the care that was taken with even tucking in the unfamiliar woman. "She gets cold sometimes," Kizaru commented before looking her over. "I'll put her in different clothes later."

"Speaking of clothes, that is what she was doing for years from what I know," Sentomaru said mildly as he noted the admiral brushing her hair out of her face slightly. "She made some of the uniforms for us in Sabaody. Mine included."

Kizaru's shoulders shook slightly as he stood up, motioning towards his nightstand before pulling out a small handkerchief. There was a black shimmering material with bright yellow but shining yarn around the edges in a very angular pattern "She actually embroidered this back when we were recruits you know. So that I could take a piece of her with me for when we'd eventually go on separate missions. I… And don't laugh at this… I tried the same. It looked really bad though. Sakazuki couldn't stop laughing but she glared at him and took it all the same."

"You're a lot more romantic than I would have given you credit for," Sentomaru admitted with surprise. "With the reputation you had amongst the ladies of the marines, it is rather hard to imagine you like that."

At those words, the normally happy admiral released a rather astonishing amount of annoyance and murderous intent. "That is something that I don't want discussed around her. I was going to propose to her after her mission. She is the woman I had planned my life around and she doesn't deserve to hear about other women. Even if it was true those years after her disappearance, I was rather unchained in my pursuits of the womanly flesh, it doesn't matter. None of them mattered at all compared to her. And that was years and years ago. You'll find that one day, Sentomaru-kun. The person who makes your heart skip when they just smile at you. She was my reason for continuing on and now that I know for certain that she is safe and at hand, nothing will ever bring me down or take that euphoria away."

"That may be but what have you heard about her amnesiac activities?" Sentomaru replied after letting the logia breath for a few moments. "You see, I had nothing against pirates which made her have nothing against me. Not calling her a pirate sympathizer but to some extent, she did."

"Explain," Kizaru quickly muttered and he was fully paying attention. As much as he loved Serenity, he needed to be the first to know if anything could potentially threaten her standings. _Damn it woman, sometimes you are your own worst enemy._

"She was known for being very kind hearted on Sabaody. If someone ran into misfortune, they could show up to her shop and she would provide for them clothing or potentially enough money to get off the island and make a new life for themselves. All out of sheer kindness." As quickly as the compliment came, Sentomaru scowled as he continued. "She however had hid pirates from us as well. Under her shop was a tunnel that she smuggled out pirates who were in over their heads or slaves hoping for a new lease on life. We could never _officially_ prove anything and the pirates she allowed through there were small fry that it was a waste of time and resources to pursue so we didn't look into it much further than her shop door. However, I know her as a good person and to hear that she is the _Immediate _does come as a bit of shock. I have to imagine how hard this is on her…"

* * *

-End Flashback-

* * *

By the time the admiral finished relaying to her the details, the female sighed as she paused in the activity she took up to keep her from going stir crazy. She had started smoothly writing out some calligraphy into the air with a feather she conjured out of her wrist once she flicked it. The parts of the air she had flicked the feather upon would glow and darken for a second before vanishing completely. "I'm still trying to mentally sort out the details but it is interesting to hear what I've been doing from another person's point of view. A bit ironic that I was in contact with one of your subordinates for a few years but alas, what can be done? Nothing. All I can do Borsalino-kun is think of the damn pirates I let get away with my own aid. Years that I have been idle and of no use. Years pirates slipped by. But no more. If Sengoku-sensei will have me… If the marines will have me again… I will do that duty denied to me because of those fucking pirates. Those pirates that took me away from you and caused us to live apart for two decades don't deserve their good fortune. I will personally ensure their disposal with everything that I am. I cannot afford to be weak or lax any further."

Borsalino sighed as he pushed back a lock of her hair that had flown into her face as she started into her self-loathing. "You had no choice right? Did you choose to be captured? Did you choose to be apart from me?"

"Never. I would never," she declared adamantly to the point she snapped the quill in her hand in anger. "It's not even fair asking that question. You know the answer."

"But hearing the answer gives me a bit of reassurance, Sere-chan. I have to know that you aren't gone from me. That the stubborn, workaholic woman I discovered is still the same overzealous Vice Admiral that departed those too damn many years ago. I just had to know, my love."

Serenity's brow softened as she released her fist, letting the shattered pieces of feather drift down into the sea. "I'm still here but I'm different. I'm the same but yet I'm more… or less depending on perspective. All I know is that my determination is only stronger. I will not allow piracy to plague the life of others like how mine has been." She paused for a moment to grab his hand tightly. "My love for you however… is constant and unwavering. It has been my strength when I could remember myself. Never fear it being lost again. I will never allow myself to become lost. Too much is at stake now to ever allow that to happen once more."

"Serenity-chan," Borsalino said softly as he tried to pull her into his arms tightly but he tensed as he heard her sniffle. He could feel her tears through his suit as she wept into his chest. "Just let it out. We're together now and that's that."

"Just please don't let me go. I don't think I could take it if I never saw you again."

"Nor I." He felt her hands tighten on his suit to the point he almost swore the threads were going to rip. "What can tear us apart now? Certainly not pirates."

"Definitely not pirates now," she sneered without realizing it. "I won't be lax any longer."

_You never were lax to begin with,_ he thought with worry before he nuzzled her neck as she leaned into his arms. "Just wait til we get to headquarters. You'll get to see Sakazuki and Kuzan again. And even some of our senseis! Sere-chan, things can be better than the old days now. I promise you that."

"And you do keep your promises," she said with a slight smile as she let her eyes close, finally allowing sleep to claim her consciously. As the stress faded from her brow, showing her in peaceful sleep, the admiral gave a small smile and even let himself relax as well. His subordinates were most shocked at how unguarded the logia was but all Sentomaru could do was smile.


End file.
